Electronic device

ABSTRACT

An electronic device includes a signal processor, a substrate, and a conductive housing. The signal processor includes an oscillator that outputs oscillation signal. The substrate has a ground component, the signal processor being disposed on the substrate. The conductive housing is connected to a first site of the ground component and to a second site that is different from the first site. The first site and the second site are disposed at positions where a first area of the housing that is an odd-numbered multiple of ¼ wavelength of the oscillation signal away from the first site overlaps at least part of a second area of the housing that is a multiple of ¼ wavelength of the oscillation signal away from the second site.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/239,987 filed on Jan. 4, 2019, which is a continuation application ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/690,981 filed on Aug. 30, 2017,which claims priority to Japanese Patent Application Nos. 2016-171954filed on Sep. 2, 2016 and 2016-171958 filed on Sep. 2, 2016. The entiredisclosures of U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 16/239,987 and15/690,981 and Japanese Patent Application Nos. 2016-171954 and2016-171958 are hereby incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an electronic device.

Background Information

Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application Publication No. 2015-109551(Patent Literature 1) discloses a conventional tuner in a display devicethat reduces unnecessary radiation, which employs a configuration inwhich the length, width, depth, and diagonal (the linear distancebetween two vertices that are the farthest apart) dimensions of a shieldcase (metal housing) that houses a tuner IC are all set to be shorterthan the half wavelength of the highest frequency out of the sourceoscillation frequencies of the oscillator of the housed tuner IC.

International Publication No. WO 2015/119151 A1 (Patent Literature 2)discloses a configuration in which the ground of a circuit board isconnected by a plurality of conductor posts to the center part of theupper face of a conductor shield (housing) in which electronic parts aresealed and the distance between the conductor posts is equal to orsmaller than ¼ the wavelength of the highest frequency used, so as toreduce unnecessary radiation attributable to resonance of the conductorshield.

Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application Publication No. 2007-299099(Patent Literature 3) discloses a configuration in which conductiveposts (grounding posts) that connect a metal housing to a printed boardare disposed evenly in the interior of the housing, or as evenly aspossible along the ends of the housing, and the spacing of thesegrounding posts is set to be no more than one-fourth the wavelength ofelectromagnetic waves corresponding to a frequency that is not apt togenerate EMI.

SUMMARY

However, although the tuner ICs installed in tuner devices today havebecome smaller and more integrated, there is a limit to how small thecapacitors and inductors housed in a metal housing can be made, so thereis also a limit to the size of the metal housing in the length, width,depth, diagonal, and other such dimensions. Meanwhile, as the capacitorsand so forth built into an IC become smaller, a high oscillationfrequency, such as from a few gigahertz to a few dozen gigahertz, isused for the voltage control oscillator (VCO) housed in the metalhousing, and because of this, the half value of the wavelength λ (λ/2)of the signal with the highest oscillation frequency is extremely low.Accordingly, even though the technique in the above-mentioned PatentLiterature 1 is to set the length, width, depth, and diagonal dimensionsof the metal housing to be no more than half the wavelength of thesignal with the highest oscillation frequency (λ/2), in actual practicethis is quite difficult, and as a result, a range or site occurs inwhich the impedance is high in the metal housing, and a large amount ofunnecessary radiation is produced from this range or site.

Furthermore, with the technique in Patent Literature 1, even if weassume that the diagonal size of the housing (the linear distancebetween two vertices that are the farthest apart), such as the lineardistance between the upper-left corner of the front face of a tetragonalhousing and the upper-right corner of the rear face that is oppositethis front face, can be set to no more than half the wavelength (λ/2) ofthe signal with the highest oscillation frequency of the VCO, if thelower-left corner of the front face of the housing and the lower-rightcorner of the rear face are grounded, the conductor shield will resonatein a size that is the total of the diagonal length of the upper face ofthe tetragonal housing and two times the height of this housing, so thistotal size greatly exceeds half the wavelength of the signal with thehighest oscillation frequency (λ/2), and once again a large amount ofunnecessary radiation ends up being produced.

Also, with the technique in the above-mentioned Patent Literature 2 andthe technique in the above-mentioned Patent Literature 3, sincegrounding posts are disposed as evenly as possible along the end or inthe interior of the housing, the large number of grounding posts is adrawback in that the configuration is more complicated and the cost ishigher.

One object of the present disclosure is to reduce the number ofgrounding sites while being able to achieve low impedance everywhere ona housing, and effectively reduce unnecessary radiation, even if thelength, width, and other such dimensions of the housing are greater thanthe half wavelength of the highest oscillation frequency of theoscillator (λ/2), in an electronic device. The electronic device can bea tuner device of a display device in which a housing that houses anoscillator in its interior is disposed on a substrate, for example.

To achieve the stated object, with the present disclosure, sinceunnecessary radiation naturally occurs at places of high impedance onthe housing, using the grounded sites of the housing as the referenceimpedance, unnecessary radiation is reduced by providing grounding sitesthat forcibly lower the impedance at these housing sites where theimpedance is high.

In view of the state of the known technology and in accordance with anaspect of the present invention, an electronic device includes a signalprocessor, a substrate, and a conductive housing. The signal processorincludes an oscillator that outputs oscillation signal. The substratehas a ground component, the signal processor being disposed on thesubstrate. The conductive housing is connected to a first site of theground component and to a second site that is different from the firstsite. The first site and the second site are disposed at positions wherea first area of the housing that is an odd-numbered multiple of ¼wavelength of the oscillation signal away from the first site overlapsat least part of a second area of the housing that is a multiple of ¼wavelength of the oscillation signal away from the second site.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring now to the attached drawings which form a part of thisoriginal disclosure:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the circuit configuration of a tuner ICprovided to the tuner device of the display device pertaining to a firstembodiment;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the configuration of the main parts of thistuner device when part of the housing has been cut away;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the main parts of this tuner device;

FIGS. 4A, 4B and 4C show how unnecessary radiation is generated from ahousing that houses a tuner IC, with FIG. 4A being an example of whenthere are two grounds, FIG. 4B when there are three grounds, and FIG. 4Cwhen there are four grounds;

FIGS. 5A, 5B and 5C show how unnecessary radiation is generated whenthis housing is grounded at three places, with FIG. 5A being an exampleof when the oscillation frequency is 6 GHz, FIG. 5B when the oscillationfrequency is 7 GHz, and FIG. 5C when the oscillation frequency is 8 GHz;

FIGS. 6A and 6B show the high impedance range produced in the housingwhen the housing is grounded at two places, with FIG. 6A showing thegeneration range in plan view, and FIG. 6B the generation range in adeveloped view of the housing;

FIG. 7 is a developed view of the housing;

FIG. 8A is a view of a main board to which a housing has been attached,as seen from the rear, FIG. 8B is a cross section of the area around agrounded land provided to this main board, and FIG. 8C is a crosssection of the area around the land in an ungrounded state;

FIG. 9 shows the high impedance range in a state in which the housinghas been developed, when two places on the housing, the left-frontcorner and the right-rear corner, have been grounded on the main board;

FIG. 10A shows the high impedance range produced in the housing when twoplaces on the housing, the left-front corner and the right-front corner,have been grounded on the main board, and FIG. 10B shows the highimpedance range in a state in which this housing has been developed;

FIG. 11 shows how the high impedance range produced when the left corneron the front face of the housing and the right corner on the rear faceare grounded at a first grounding site is changed to a lower impedanceby a second grounding site disposed on the lower edge of the left-sideface of the housing;

FIG. 12 shows how another high impedance range produced in the housingis changed to a lower impedance by the second grounding site in FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 shows a modification example of the position of the secondgrounding site in FIG. 12, with this position being disposed at a pointwithin 1/20 of the wavelength λ from a distance that is an even-numberedmultiple of ¼ the wavelength with respect to a high impedance point;

FIG. 14 shows another modification example of the position of the secondgrounding site shown in FIG. 12;

FIG. 15 shows how the two high impedance ranges produced in the housingshown in FIG. 7 are changed to a lower impedance by a second groundingsite disposed on the lower edge of the right-side face of the housing;

FIG. 16 shows how two high impedance ranges produced in the housing arechanged to a lower impedance by a second grounding site provided to thelower edge of the left-side face of the housing and a second groundingsite provided to the lower edge of the right-side face of the housing;

FIGS. 17A, 17B, 17C, 17D and 17E show how second grounding sitesprovided to the housing are connected to the main board, with FIG. 17Abeing when legs are provided to the housing, FIG. 17B when the housingis soldered directly to the main board, and FIG. 17C when a sheet metalspring is used, and FIG. 17D being a side view of this sheet metalspring, and FIG. 17E a cross section of this sheet metal spring;

FIG. 18 shows a second embodiment of the present disclosure, and showshow a high impedance range is changed to a lower impedance by a secondgrounding site provided to the lower edge of the left-side face in adeveloped view of the housing;

FIGS. 19A and 19B show a third embodiment of the present disclosure,with FIG. 19A being a diagram in which a second grounding site providedto the housing is disposed at a position away from the housing, and FIG.19B a cross section of the configuration around the second groundingsite;

FIGS. 20A, 20B and 20C show a modification example of the thirdembodiment, with FIG. 20A being a diagram in which a second groundingsite provided to the housing is disposed in a region of the main boardlocated under the housing, FIG. 20B a diagram of the configurationaround the second grounding site, and FIG. 20C a cross section along theC-C line of the wiring pattern in FIG. 20B;

FIG. 21 shows a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure, and is adiagram in which another grounding site provided to the housing isdisposed at a position away from the housing;

FIGS. 22A, 22B and 22C show a modification example of an extension linedisposed in an area of the main board located under the housing, withFIG. 22A showing an example in which the extension line is arc-shaped,FIG. 22B an example in which an arc shape and a linear shape arecombined, and FIG. 22C an example of an undulating shape;

FIGS. 23A, 23B and 23C show a second modification example of thisextension line, with FIG. 23A being a plan view of the connected portionbetween the housing and the main board, FIG. 23B a cross section, andFIG. 23C a bottom view;

FIG. 24 shows a third modification example of this extension line, andis an oblique view in which the extension line consists of a metal wire;

FIG. 25 shows a fourth modification example of this extension line, andis a cross section of the connected portion between the housing and themain board when the extension line consists of a wire-shaped conductorand a wiring pattern;

FIG. 26 shows a fifth modification example of this extension line, andis a cross section of the connected portion between the housing and themain board when the extension line consists of a flat spring-shapedconductor;

FIGS. 27A and 27B show a fifth embodiment of the present disclosure,with FIG. 27A being a diagram in which an open site provided to thehousing is disposed at a position away from the housing, and FIG. 27Bshowing the configuration around the open site;

FIGS. 28A and 28B show the range of high impedance that occurs in thehousing when this housing is grounded at two sites, with FIG. 28Ashowing the range in plan view, and FIG. 28B the range in a developedview of the housing;

FIG. 29 shows a high impedance range in a developed state of thehousing, when the housing has been grounded on the main board at twosites, namely, the left-front corner and the right-rear corner;

FIG. 30 shows a high impedance range in a developed state of thehousing, when the housing has been grounded on the main board at twosites, namely, the left-front corner and the right-front corner;

FIG. 31A shows a configuration in which the left corner of the frontface of the housing is grounded, the right corner of the rear face isgrounded with a line at a distance, and the high impedance range thatoccurs in the housing is narrowed to a single point, and FIG. 31B showsa specific example of a configuration in which the right corner of therear face is grounded to a grounding pattern on the main board via anextension line;

FIG. 32A shows the path of a high impedance site C produced by twogrounding sites, and FIG. 32B shows the high impedance range that occurswhen the oscillation frequency is in a range of f1≤f≤f2 on the path ofthis high impedance site C;

FIGS. 33A, 33B, 33C, 33D, 33E and 33F show the variation in thedistribution of the high impedance range that occurs when theoscillation frequency is in a range of f1≤f≤f2, with FIG. 33A showingthe situation when the spacing between two high impedance points at thehighest frequency f2 is greater than 1/10 the wavelength at thatfrequency, FIG. 33B when the spacing between these two high impedancepoints is no more than 1/10 the wavelength at that frequency, FIG. 33Cwhen the points of high impedance at the highest frequency f2 overlap ina single point, FIG. 33D when the points of high impedance at afrequency f4 that is lower than the highest frequency f2 overlap in asingle point, FIG. 33E when the spacing between two high impedancepoints at the lowest frequency f1 is no more than 1/10 the wavelength atthat frequency, and FIG. 33F when only one point remains at which theimpedance is high at the lowest frequency f1;

FIGS. 34A, 34B, 34C and 34D show a seventh embodiment of the presentdisclosure, with FIG. 34A showing how the left corner of the front faceis grounded, the right corner of the rear face is grounded at a distancewith an extension line disposed in an area of the main board locatedunder the housing, and the high impedance range that occurs in thehousing is narrowed to a single point, FIG. 34B showing the groundingpattern around the position on the main board where the housing isdisposed, FIG. 34C showing the specific configuration of the extensionline disposed in an area of the main board located under the housing,and FIG. 34D being a D-D cross section of the line in FIG. 34C;

FIGS. 35A, 35B and 35C show a modification example of the line disposedin an area of the main board located under the housing, with FIG. 35Ashowing an example of when the line is arc shaped, FIG. 35B an exampleof a combination of an arc shape and a linear shape, and FIG. 35C anexample of a crenelated shape;

FIGS. 36A, 36B and 36C show a second modification example of this line,with FIG. 36A being a plan view of the connected portion between thehousing and the main board, FIG. 36B a cross section, and FIG. 36C abottom view;

FIG. 37 shows a third modification example of this line, and is anoblique view of when the line is made of metal;

FIG. 38 shows a fourth modification example of this line, and is a crosssection of the connected portion between the housing and the main boardwhen the line consists of a wire-shaped conductor and a wiring pattern;

FIG. 39 shows a fifth modification example of this line, and is a crosssection of the connected portion between the housing and the main boardwhen the line consists of a conductor in the form of a leaf spring;

FIG. 40 shows an eighth embodiment of the present disclosure, and showsa configuration in which the impedance is lowered at a high impedancepoint that occurs in the housing;

FIG. 41 shows a modification example of this eighth embodiment, andshows an example in which grounding sites of the housing to the mainboard are all disposed at positions that are away from the housing;

FIG. 42 shows a ninth embodiment of the present disclosure, and shows aconfiguration in which the high impedance points that occur in thehousing are eliminated;

FIG. 43 shows a tenth embodiment of the present disclosure, and shows aconfiguration that does not result in a high impedance range around aconnector;

FIGS. 44A and 44B show an eleventh embodiment of the present disclosure,with FIG. 44A being a diagram in which an open site provided to thehousing is disposed at a position that is away from the housing, andFIG. 44B showing the configuration around the open site;

FIG. 45 illustrates the consideration of only signal propagationcentered on the top face of the housing when there is a weak electricalconnection between the side faces of a housing that houses a tuner IC;and

FIG. 46A is a developed view of the housing when there is a strongelectrical connection between the side faces of the housing, and FIG.46B illustrates when signal propagation between the side faces of thehousing is also considered, when there is a strong electrical connectionbetween the side faces of the housing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Selected embodiments will now be explained with reference to thedrawings. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art from thisdisclosure that the following descriptions of the embodiments areprovided for illustration only and not for the purpose of limiting theinvention as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents. Thepresent application is related to a display device comprising a tunerdevice that receives television broadcasts, etc., and more particularlyrelates to a technique for reducing unnecessary radiation (EMI:electromagnetic interference) from a metal housing of the tuner device.

First Embodiment

FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram of a tuner IC provided to a tuner device ofa display device 100 pertaining to a first embodiment of the presentdisclosure. This tuner IC (tuner component) is used for televisionbroadcasts, for example, and its output broadcast signal is outputted toa display component (display) 12, and video corresponding to thebroadcast signal is displayed on this display component 12.

In the tuner IC 10 in FIG. 1, 1 is an RF amplifier (gain controlamplifier), 2 is an interstage filter, 3 is a VCO/PLL circuit, 4 is a1/N circuit, 5 is a mixer, 6 is a detector, 7 is an interstage filter, 8is an IF amplifier (gain control amplifier), and 9 is an AGC (auto gaincontrol) circuit.

The RF amplifier 1 amplifies a received signal having an RF frequency of90 to 767 MHz, which is the frequency of ground wave televisionbroadcasts in Japan, for example, and the interstage filter 2 limits theband of the amplified signal. The VCO/PLL circuit (oscillator) 3 changesthe oscillation frequency of the oscillation signal outputted by abuilt-in local oscillator depending on the tuning voltage of the PLLcircuit, thereby generating a frequency range of at least 2 GHz, such asan oscillation frequency of 6 to 8 GHz. The 1/N circuit 4 converts theoscillation frequency generated by the VCO/PLL circuit 3 to a 1/Nmultiple (such as 6 to 133), and thereby gives a local oscillationfrequency of 96.5 to 770.5 MHz, for example. The mixer 5 converts thefrequency of the received signal by mixing the received signal with anRF frequency from the interstage filter 2 with the local oscillationfrequency from the 1/N circuit 4. The detector 6 outputs thedifferential voltage of the differential outputs from the mixer 5. Theinterstage filter 7 limits the band of the differential output signal ofthe mixer 5 that has gone through the detector 6. The IF amplifier 8amplifies the received signal that has undergone frequency conversionand band limitation, and outputs a signal with an IF frequency of 3.5MHz, for example. The AGC circuit 9 generates gain control signals RFAGC and IF AGC that control the degree of amplification of the RFamplifier 1 and the IF amplifier 8 on the basis of the differentialvoltage between the differential outputs of the mixer 5 detected by thedetector 6.

As shown in FIG. 2, the tuner IC 10 with the above configuration isdisposed on a main board 20 (substrate) along with a quartz oscillator15, a capacitor, an inductor, and other chip parts 16. The tuner IC 10,the quartz oscillator 15, and the chip parts 16 are all shielded by atetragonal, conductive housing 22 that covers them. This housing 22 ismade up of a conductive frame or cover that has been plated with a metalor a non-metal. Therefore, the housing 22 is configured so as to make itless likely that external noise will be mixed into a tuner circuit, suchas the mixer 5 in the tuner IC 10, and to reduce radiation and leakageto the outside of the signals generated in the tuner circuit.

The tuner IC 10 forms a signal processor that processes signals of afrequency higher than a specific threshold. In this embodiment, a signalprocessor is formed by the tuner IC 10, so when the bandwidth of the RFsignal that is received is from 50 MHz to 3.2 GHz, the above-mentionedspecific threshold is 50 MHz.

Also, while the signal processor is formed by the tuner IC 10 in thisembodiment, the present invention is not limited to or by this, and thesignal processor may instead be formed by WiFi, Bluetooth (registeredtrademark), or another such wireless communication component that sendsand receives information signals. In this case, the bandwidth of the RFsignal of the WiFi, Bluetooth (registered trademark), or other suchwireless communication component is from 2.4 to 2.5 GHz or 5 to 6 GHz,so the above-mentioned specific threshold is approximately 2.4 GHz, andsince the frequency is the same as that of the oscillation signal of thetuner in the case of an oscillation signal in wireless communication,the specific threshold is approximately 2 GHz.

As shown in FIG. 2, an F-type connector 23 is attached to the housing22, an RF cable (signal cable) 24 that transmits signals (RF signals) ofthe television broadcast frequency is connected to the F-type connector23, and an RF signal is inputted to the RF amplifier 1 in FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 3, the housing 22 has legs 22 a disposed at the twocorners 22 v and 22 s, for example. These legs 22 a are inserted intothrough-holes 20 a formed in the main board 20 and attached with solder25, and the legs 22 a are grounded to a conductive pattern (groundingpattern=ground component) (ground potential) 20 c of the groundpotential formed on the upper and lower faces of the main board 20 viathe through-holes 20 a in the main board 20.

The housing 22 that houses the tuner IC 10, etc., and the main board 20on which this housing 22 is disposed form a tuner device in thetelevision broadcast reception circuit of this embodiment.

With the above television broadcast reception circuit, the housing 22 isdisposed on the main board 20, but also disposed are a microcomputer forperforming processing to demodulate television broadcast waves, etc., amemory, power supply parts, noise suppression parts for preventing theadmixture of noise into the numerous signal patterns formed on the mainboard 20, an external interface for connecting television cables and thelike, and so on.

Dimensions of Housing

An example of the dimensions of the housing 22, taking into account thesize of the quartz oscillator 15 or the tuner IC 10 housed therein, orthe capacitor, inductor, and other such chip parts 16, is a length L of17 mm, a width W of 20 mm, a height H of 10 mm, and a diagonal length Dof 26.24 mm, at the very smallest. Since the frequency of theoscillation signal generated by the VCO/PLL circuit 3 of the tuner IC 10is 6 to 8 GHz, the shortest length at which the effect of shieldingagainst unnecessary radiation in the housing 22 will completelydisappear, that is, the half value (λ/2) of the wavelength λ at thehighest oscillation frequency of the oscillation signal (8 GHz), is18.75 mm. Therefore, in the dimensions of the housing 22, since thewidth W of 20 mm and the diagonal length D of 26.24 mm exceed theabove-mentioned half wavelength (λ/2), something needs to be done toreduce unnecessary radiation. Furthermore, given that the diameter ofthe F-type connector 23 is established by standard, when the housing 22is grounded to the main board 20 at the two corners C1 and C2 shown inFIG. 2, for example, the distance between those two corners C1 and C2will be the width W+2×the height H=37 mm, and even if the width W (20mm) and the diagonal length D (26.24 mm) can be reduced to the halfwavelength (λ/2=18.75 mm), in actual practice it is difficult to reduceunnecessary radiation in the housing 22.

FIGS. 4A to 4C show the results of when the inventors measured howunnecessary radiation is generated in the above-mentioned housing 22.The term “unnecessary radiation” here refers to high-frequency noisethat is a source of electromagnetic interference, as opposed to thesignals (broadcast signals, communication signals, etc.) that areoutputted to the outside from a device that processes high-frequencysignals, etc., and are supposed to be used in an external device. Thisis the meaning of “unnecessary radiation” as used in this Specification.FIGS. 4A to 4C show the dispersion, emission direction, and peakintensity of the unnecessary radiation in the housing 22 when theoscillation frequency at the VCO/PLL circuit 3 is fixed at a specificvalue (6 GHz), and when the grounding sites of the housing 22 to themain board 20 are the corners, with the number of these grounding sitesbeing two in FIG. 4A, three in FIG. 4B, and four in FIG. 4C. As can beseen from these drawings, the least amount of unnecessary radiation iswhen there are three grounding sites as in FIG. 4B, but some is stillgenerated.

FIGS. 5A to 5C show how unnecessary radiation is generated when theoscillation frequency at the VCO/PLL circuit 3 is varied, with the threegrounding sites in FIG. 4B that result in the least amount ofunnecessary radiation. The oscillation frequency is set to 6 GHz in FIG.5A, to 7 GHz in FIG. 5B, and to 8 GHz in FIG. 5C in these examples. Ascan be seen from these drawings, with the same three grounding sites,when the oscillation frequency is varied, the dispersion, emissiondirection, and peak intensity of the unnecessary radiation each change,and the peak intensity of unnecessary radiation is highest at thehighest oscillation frequency (8 GHz).

Therefore, it is usually extremely difficult to specifically establishthe grounding sites of the housing 22 so that unnecessary radiation canbe reduced to below the standard over the entire variable range of theoscillation frequency at the VCO/PLL circuit 3.

Features of this Embodiment

This embodiment makes use of a configuration in which unnecessaryradiation can be easily, effectively, and reliably reduced even when anyof the various dimensions of the housing 22 cannot be made less than thehalf wavelength (λ/2) at the highest oscillation frequency (8 GHz), asdiscussed above. This will be described in detail below.

Specification of First Grounding Sites

First of all, first grounding sites are specified arbitrarily. Thesefirst grounding sites will be described by using an example of when thenumber of grounding sites shown in FIG. 4A is small, that is, when twofirst grounding sites are specified, which are the left-front corner andthe right-rear corner in FIG. 4A. These first specified sites may beother corners, or there may be three sites, four sites, etc., as inFIGS. 4B and 4C.

FIGS. 6A and 6B show the range where the impedance is higher than aspecific impedance in the housing 22, when the grounding sites are atthe left-front corner and the right-rear corner of the housing 22 (firstgrounding sites), as mentioned above.

The housing 22 is formed in a tetragonal shape by working a single pieceof sheet metal. FIG. 7 is a developed view of the housing 22, which hasa rectangular upper part and four side parts that extend from the edgesof the upper part and are perpendicular to the upper part. Here, thefour-sided housing 22 is produced by bending the four side faces b to ewith respect to the top face a in the developed view of the housing 22.Legs 22 h, 22 i, 22 j, and 22 k that extend downward for grounding tothe main board 20 are formed at the both lower corners of the front faceb, in which an attachment hole 23 a for the F-type connector 23 isformed, and the rear face d, and four-sided holes 221, 22 m, 22 n, and22 o are formed at positions above these legs 22 h to 22 k,respectively. Protrusions 22 c, 22 e, 22 f, and 22 g that fit into theholes 221 to 22 o formed in the front face b and the rear face d areformed at both lower corners of the two side faces c and e that touchthe front face b and the rear face d when folded. The housing 22 is thenconnected, in a state in which the single piece of sheet metal has beenbent and its assembly completed, to the ground potential parts of themain board 20.

The main board 20, meanwhile, is configured as follows. FIG. 8A showsthe main board 20, on which the housing 22 is disposed, as seen from therear face. The main board 20 shown in FIG. 8A has lands 20 e to 20 hformed at positions corresponding to the four corners of the housing 22.The lands 20 e and 20 g corresponding to the two corners 22 r and 22 sof the housing 22 serving as the first grounding sites are connected tothe grounding pattern 20 c disposed on the rear face of the main board20, and the other two lands 20 f and 20 h are not connected to thegrounding pattern 20 c. In FIG. 8A, 20 d is a land for connecting theF-type connector 23 to a signal pattern (not shown) on the main board20.

As shown in FIGS. 8B and 8C, the four lands 20 e to 20 h of the mainboard 20 have through-holes 20 s formed at positions corresponding tothe four corners of the housing 22. At the lands 20 e and 20 gcorresponding to the two corners 22 r and 22 s serving as firstgrounding sites of the housing 22, as shown in FIG. 8B, thethrough-holes 20 s are connected to the grounding pattern 20 c disposedon the front face and/or rear face of the main board 20, and at thelands 20 f and 20 h corresponding to the other two corners 22 t and 22 uof the housing 22 that are not grounded, as shown in FIG. 8C, thethrough-holes 20 s are not connected to the grounding pattern 20 c.

As shown in FIG. 8A, of the legs 22 h to 22 k on the front face b andthe rear face d of the housing 22, the leg 22 h in the left corner 22 rof the front face b and the leg 22 k in the right corner 22 s of therear face d that are to be grounded are inserted into the through-holes20 s in the main board 20, and in this state the through-holes 20 s andthe legs 22 h and 22 k are attached with the solder 25, thus connectingthese legs 22 h and 22 k to the grounding pattern 20 c of the main board20.

Meanwhile, at the two corners 22 t and 22 u of the housing 22 that arenot grounded, just as with the corners 22 r and 22 s that are grounded,the legs 22 i and 22 j are inserted into the through-holes 20 s of themain board 20, and in this state the through-holes 20 s and the legs 22i and 22 j are attached with the solder 25, thus fixing the two corners22 t and 22 u of the housing 22 that are not grounded, to the lands 20 fand 20 h of the main board 20, but not connecting them to the groundingpattern 20 c.

With the above configuration, in this embodiment, because of theconfiguration of the housing 22 shown in FIG. 7, in a state in which asingle piece of sheet metal has been bent into the hollow, four-sidedhousing 22, the lower corner 22 p of the left face e and the uppercorner 22 q of the right face c will have a low degree of groundingthrough mechanical engagement between the protrusions 22 c and 22 f andthe holes 221 and 22 o in FIG. 7, so as shown in FIG. 8A, when the frontface lower-left corner 22 r and the rear face lower-right corner 22 s ofthe housing 22 are grounded, in the developed view of the housing 22shown in FIG. 6, the left corner 22 r of the front face b and the rightcorner 22 s of the rear face d will be the grounding potentials, and thegrounding effect at the two corners 22 p and 22 q with theabove-mentioned low degree of grounding can be ignored.

Establishing High Impedance Range in Housing

As discussed above, the highest frequency of the oscillation signal atthe VCO/PLL circuit 3 is 8 GHz, and when the wavelength λ shortens toabout 40 mm, if the size of the housing 22 exceeds the half wavelength(λ/2), then impedance will be a distributed element (distributedconstant) in the housing 22, which serves as the propagation path forthe oscillation signal. With this distributed element circuit, agrounding site serves as the reference impedance, and a site that is anodd-numbered multiple of λ/4 away from this grounding site will be anopen end, resulting in high impedance. When a plurality of groundingsites are provided, overlapping parts of sites that are an odd-numberedmultiple of λ/4 away from these grounding sites will have the highestimpedance.

More specifically, in the developed view of the housing 22 shown in FIG.6B, as discussed above, two sites are ground potentials, namely, theleft corner 22 r of the front face b (the face of a side part extendingfrom a short edge of the rectangular upper part) and the right corner 22s of the rear face d, so the highest impedance is at sites that are bothan odd-numbered multiple of λ/4 away from these two grounding sites(first sites) 22 r and 22 s. In FIG. 6B, there are drawn an arc-shapedhigh impedance range A (first area) (this high impedance range isbounded by a broken line in the drawing) in which a high impedanceportion that is λ/4 away from the left corner 22 r of the front face boverlaps a high impedance portion that is three times λ/4 away from theright corner 22 s of the rear face d, and an arc-shaped high impedancerange B (first area) (this high impedance range is bounded by a brokenline in the drawing) in which a high impedance portion that is λ/4 awayfrom the right corner 22 s of the rear face d overlaps a high impedanceportion that is three times λ/4 away from the left corner 22 r of thefront face b. When the left corner 22 r of the front face b and theright corner 22 s of the rear face d thus serve as ground potentials ina developed view of the housing 22, the high impedance ranges A and Boccur in the lower-left corner and the upper-right corner of the topface a, and the front face b and the rear face d. Also, in theabove-mentioned arc-shaped high impedance ranges A and B, the arc-shapedlines indicated with a thick solid line are each an area of the highestimpedance, and are both sites that are an odd-numbered multiple of λ/4away from the grounding sites (first sites) 22 r and 22 s. Also, theseimpedance ranges A and B indicate a range that includes a distance thatis a λ/20 multiple of the wavelength λ at the oscillation frequency ffrom the high impedance area of the arc-shaped line (indicated by theabove-mentioned thick solid line). Also, there is one or two highimpedance points corresponding to each frequency fin each of the highimpedance ranges A and B, with the distance between these two pointsdecreasing the higher is the frequency f. If the distance between thesetwo points is long (if they are far apart), the radiation direction ofthe radio waves will be dispersed, and if the distance is short, therewill be greater radiation directionality. The strength of radiationdirectionality is a gradation within the impedance ranges A and B, butin the drawing it is depicted simply as three steps, because of thedifficulty in expressing it.

Therefore, in the developed view of FIG. 6B, a large amount ofunnecessary radiation occurs in the above-mentioned two high impedanceranges A and B.

FIGS. 6A and 6B show the high impedance ranges A and B that occur whenthe sheet metal shown in FIG. 7 is bent into the housing 22, but if thedegree of grounding is increased by securely joining the places wherethe front face b and the rear face d touch the right face c and the leftface e by soldering, etc., after bending the sheet metal shown in FIG.7, for example, then as shown in FIG. 9, the lower corner 22 p of theleft face e and the left corner 22 r of the front face b will have thesame potential, and the lower corner 22 q of the right face c and theright corner 22 s of the rear face d will have the same potential, thesewill serve as the ground potentials, and there will be four groundingsites in a developed view of the housing 22. In this case, the highimpedance ranges C and D occur in the lower-left corner and theupper-right corner of the top face a, and a large amount of unnecessaryradiation is generated from these ranges C and D. Furthermore, the highimpedance ranges C and D are the same distance from the two groundingsites, namely, the lower corner 22 p of the left face e and the leftcorner 22 r of the front face b, and are the same distance from theother two grounding sites, namely, the lower corner 22 q of the rightface c and the right corner 22 s of the rear face d, so their shape isrectilinear. Also, the straight lines indicated by the thick solid linesin these high impedance ranges C and D are sites that are anodd-numbered multiple of λ/4 away from the grounding sites (first sites)22 p, 22 r, 22 q, and 22 s, and are areas where the impedance ishighest. Also, these high impedance ranges C and D indicate a range thatincludes a distance that is a λ/20 multiple of the wavelength λ at theoscillation frequency f from the high impedance area of the straightlines indicated by the above-mentioned thick solid lines. In these highimpedance ranges C and D, radiation directionality is weak, and there isno gradation.

FIGS. 10A and 10B show the state when the housing 22 is produced usingthe sheet metal shown in FIG. 7, and the left corner 22 r and the rightcorner 22 v of the front face b (two sites) have been grounded. In thesedrawings, the high impedance ranges E and F occur in the middle upperpart of the front face b and the middle upper part of the rear face d,and a large amount of unnecessary radiation is generated from theseranges E and F. With this grounding, the surface area of the highimpedance ranges is smaller than with the grounding shown in FIGS. 6Aand 6B or the grounding shown in FIG. 9, but some still occurs.

Reduction of Impedance in High Impedance Ranges of Housing

As discussed above, high impedance ranges occur in the housing 22, andthe location and surface area of these high impedance ranges vary withthe grounding sites of the housing 22. In this embodiment, aconfiguration is employed that reliably reduces the impedance of thesehigh impedance ranges.

FIG. 11 shows the configuration for reducing the impedance of a highimpedance range, using as an example a case of the grounding state shownin FIG. 6B, that is, when the left corner 22 r of the front face b andthe right corner 22 s of the rear face d are first grounding sites inthe developed view of the housing 22 in FIG. 6B, and are grounded to thegrounding pattern 20 c of the main board 20.

In FIG. 11, the impedance is lowered in the high impedance range B (seeFIGS. 6A and 6B) that occurred in the developed view of the housing 22.As discussed above, with a housing 22 in which the oscillation frequencyof the oscillator is high and impedance is a distributed element, when agrounding site is used as the reference impedance, at a position that isan odd-numbered multiple of λ/4 away from this grounding site, theimpedance is higher than a specific impedance (first threshold), but inan area that is an even-numbered multiple of ¼ the wavelength λ of theoscillation signal away from this grounding site (second area), theimpedance is lower than a specific impedance (second threshold). In theillustrated embodiment, the specific impedance (first threshold) and thespecific impedance (second threshold) can be equal to each other, and be150Ω, for example. Of course, the specific impedance (first threshold)and the specific impedance (second threshold) can be set differentvalues as needed and/or desired. Therefore, in FIG. 11, in a developedview of the housing 22, a second grounding site (second site) 22 w isdisposed on the bottom edge k of the left face e of the housing 22 (aside face extending from a long edge of the rectangular upper part),with this position being separated from a point at an oscillationfrequency of 6.8 GHz, at which the radiation directionality isparticularly high in the high impedance range B, in a straight linedistance of two times ¼ the wavelength λ (λ/2) of this oscillationfrequency (6.8 GHz) in a developed view.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the range of particularly high impedanceand/or the range of particularly high radiation directionality in thehigh impedance range B that occurred in a developed view of the housing22 (see FIGS. 6A and 6B) can be made lower than a specific impedance bymeans of the second grounding site 22 w. As a result, the secondgrounding site 22 w can effectively reduce the generation of unnecessaryradiation from the high impedance range B that occurred due to the twofirst grounding sites 22 r and 22 s in FIGS. 6A and 6B.

FIG. 11 illustrates a case of lowering the impedance over a wide rangeof the high impedance range B of the housing 22 with the secondgrounding site 22 w, but as shown in FIG. 12, this second grounding site22 w corresponds to a position that is separated from a point near aportion of high impedance (a portion where the oscillation frequency isaround 6.8 GHz) within the other high impedance range A that occurs inthe housing 22 (see FIG. 6) (this point is depicted in FIG. 13 by ablack circle), by a distance of half the wavelength (λ/2) at theoscillation frequency (6.8 GHz) in a developed view of the housing 22.Therefore, the second grounding site (second site) 22 w makes itpossible to lower the impedance even over the wide range of the highimpedance range A of the housing 22. Therefore, the impedance can belowered over a wide range in both of the high impedance ranges A and Bof the housing 22, and unnecessary radiation from these ranges A and Bcan be effectively reduced, with just the one second grounding site 22w.

Therefore, in this embodiment, since it is possible for the impedance inboth of the high impedance ranges A and B caused by the two firstgrounding sites 22 r and 22 s to be lowered by a single second groundingsite 22 w, it is also possible to keep the number of second groundingsites that lower the impedance of high impedance ranges lower than thenumber of first grounding sites that cause those high impedance ranges.

Therefore, with this embodiment, there is no need to dispose groundingposts (grounding sites) as evenly as possible along the ends or theinside of the housing 22 as in the past, so the configuration of thehousing 22 can be simpler and it can be produced at lower cost.

With this embodiment, a second grounding site was disposed at a pointthat was exactly an even-numbered multiple of ¼ the wavelength λ of theoscillation frequency away from the point of high impedance in thisfrequency, but the present invention is not limited to this, and thesecond grounding site need not be disposed exactly an even-numberedmultiple of ¼ the wavelength λ away, as long as it is sufficientlyclose.

Usually, impedance can be kept low within a range of λ/20 from agrounding site, so the grounding sites are often designed at a spacingof λ/10 (the center between grounding sites is exactly λ/20 from thegrounding sites) in housings and substrates with which there are noparticular restrictions on cost or shape.

Because of this, it may be concluded that the effect of the presentdisclosure can be sufficiently obtained as long as the second groundingsite is disposed at a point within 1/20 the wavelength λ from a distancethat is an even-numbered multiple of ¼ the wavelength λ of theoscillation frequency away from a point of high impedance at thisfrequency.

For instance, in FIG. 13, the second grounding site 22 w is provided ata site that is an even-numbered multiple of ¼ the wavelength λ away froma dot in a circle with a radius of λ/20 of the oscillation frequency,centered at a point of high impedance, separated by an odd-numberedmultiple of ¼ the wavelength λ of the oscillation frequency away fromboth the grounding sites 22 r and 22 s.

Doing this allows the effect of the present disclosure to besufficiently obtained even if there are restrictions on where the secondgrounding site can be disposed, for example.

Also, in FIG. 14, unlike in FIGS. 11 and 13, the housing 22 is groundedat a grounding site (first site) 22 r, and is also grounded at anothergrounding site (third site) 22 s′, resulting in the arc-shaped areaindicated by the thick solid line in the drawing, at which the impedanceis high and which is separated from the grounding site 22 s′ by anodd-numbered multiple (one times in the drawing) of ¼ the wavelength λof the oscillation frequency, and also resulting in the arc-shaped areaindicated by the thick broken line in the drawing, at which theimpedance is high and which is separated from the grounding site 22 r byan odd-numbered multiple (three times in the drawing) of ¼ thewavelength λ of the oscillation frequency. These two high impedanceareas overlap at two points H1 and H2. If the distance between the twopoints H1 and H2 of high impedance is no more than 1/10 the wavelength λof the oscillation frequency, the position of a second grounding site 22w′ should be selected so that these two points H1 and H2 of highimpedance will be included within a circle whose radius, centered on asite G that is an even-numbered multiple (two times in the drawing) of ¼the wavelength λ of the oscillation frequency away from the secondgrounding site (second site) 22 w′, is 1/20 the wavelength of theoscillation frequency. Thus, in the illustrated embodiment, the twopoints H1 and H2 are located within the circle with the radius of λ/20,centered at the site G in an area (second area) of the housing 22 inwhich an impedance is lower than a second threshold due to the secondgrounding site (second site) 22 w′.

First Modification Example

FIG. 15 shows a first modification example of the second grounding siteshown in FIG. 11.

In FIG. 11, because the two first grounding sites 22 r and 22 s arelocated in point symmetry in a developed view of the housing 22, in thismodification example, in FIG. 15, the second grounding site 22 w in FIG.11 is replaced by a second grounding site (second site) 22 x that isdisposed in point symmetry to the second grounding site 22 w, that is,on the bottom edge n of the right face c in a developed view of thehousing 22.

Therefore, again in this modification example, it is possible to lowerthe impedance in both of the high impedance ranges A and B caused by thetwo first grounding sites 22 r and 22 s, with just a single secondgrounding site 22 x.

Second Modification Example

FIG. 16 shows a second modification example of the position of thesecond grounding site shown in FIG. 11.

In this modification example, the configuration in FIG. 12 showing thisembodiment is combined with the configuration in FIG. 15 showing thefirst modification example. The second grounding site 22 w in FIG. 12and the second grounding site 22 x in FIG. 15 are disposed as secondgrounding sites (second sites) that lower the impedance of the two highimpedance ranges A and B.

When the two second grounding sites 22 w and 22 x are both provided, itwill be possible to lower the impedance of the high impedance ranges Aand B over a wider range if, for example, one of the grounding sites(such as 22 w) is disposed at a position that is separated by a halfwavelength (λ/2) from near a position at the oscillation frequency of6.8 GHz within the high impedance ranges A and B, and the othergrounding site (such as 22 x) is disposed at a position that isseparated by a half wavelength (λ/2) from near a position at anotheroscillation frequency (such as 6.9 GHz) within the high impedance rangesA and B.

With the above embodiment and the above first and second modificationexamples, the second grounding sites 22 w and 22 x were disposed at aposition that was half a wavelength (λ/2) (that is, two times λ/4) awayin straight line distance in a developed view of the housing 22, but thepresent invention is not limited to this, and if the housing 22 is largein size in its length, width, etc., the high impedance ranges that occurin the housing can still be effectively reduced if these sites aredisposed at a position that is separated by an even-numbered multiple offour or more times the λ/4 of the wavelength λ of the oscillationsignal.

Furthermore, with the above embodiment and the above first and secondmodification examples, a case in which the first grounding sites werethe two corners 22 r and 22 s was described, as shown in the examples inFIGS. 12, 15, and 16, but the first grounding sites may be located atother corners, and the number of the first grounding sites is notlimited to two, and the present invention can be similarly applied ifthe number is three, or four or more.

Specific Configuration of Second Grounding Site

FIGS. 17A to 17E show the specific configuration of connecting thesecond grounding sites 22 w and 22 x to the grounding pattern 20 c ofthe main board 20.

In FIG. 17A, in the second grounding site 22 w, a leg 22 y is formed onthe bottom edge k of the left face e of the housing 22, just as with thefirst grounding site 22 r disposed in a corner of the housing 22, whilea through-hole 20 a is disposed at a position on the main board 20corresponding to the leg 22 y, and when the housing 22 is attached tothe main board 20, the leg 22 y on the left face e of the housing 22 isinserted into the through-hole 20 a and fixed with solder 25, and theleg 22 y of the housing 22 is connected via the through-hole 20 a in themain board 20 to the grounding pattern 20 c on the lower face of themain board 20.

In FIG. 17B, solder 25 is applied to the position on the left face e ofthe housing 22 that will become the second grounding site 22 w, and thesecond grounding site 22 w of the housing 22 is connected directly tothe grounding pattern 20 c on the main board 20.

In FIG. 17C, a metal leaf spring 36 is used as a surface mounted part.This metal leaf spring 36 is substantially in the form of a squared-offU in cross section, as shown in FIG. 17D, two flat pieces 36 a that aredisposed opposite each other as shown in FIG. 17E are pressed towardeach other, that part of the left face e of the housing 22 that servesas the second grounding site 22 w is squeezed between and fixed by theflat pieces 36 a of the metal leaf spring 36, and the bottom face ofthis fixed metal leaf spring 36 is connected to the grounding pattern 20c on the upper face of the main board 20 by reflow soldering.

Second Embodiment

FIG. 18 shows a second embodiment of the present disclosure.

In this embodiment, the impedance is lowered in a range near the F-typeconnector 23 in a developed view of the housing 22.

As shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B, when the left corner 22 r and the rightcorner 22 v of the front face b of the housing 22 are used as firstgrounding sites, a high impedance range (first area) E is generated inthe upper middle part of the front face b. As shown in FIG. 10A, sincethe RF cable 24 that transmits television broadcast waves is connectedto the F-type connector 23, the effect of unnecessary radiationgenerated near the F-type connector 23 also leads to the generation ofunnecessary radiation on the RF cable 24, according to the material,structure or attachment state of the RF cable 24 (how it bends, etc.).In this drawing, the places where unnecessary radiation may occur on theRF cable 24 are indicated by circles.

As shown in FIG. 18, in this embodiment a second grounding site (secondsite) 22 z is disposed at a position on the bottom edge k of the leftface e of the housing 22, which is a position that is separated, instraight line distance in a developed view of the housing 22, by adistance of half the wavelength (λ/2) at the oscillation frequency (6.8GHz) from a high impedance point that occurs at an oscillation frequencyof 6.8 GHz, out of the high impedance range E that occurs in the uppermiddle part of the front face b of the housing 22.

Therefore, in this embodiment, a high impedance range F that occurs inthe upper middle part of the rear face d of the housing 22 does remain,but the second grounding site 22 z lowers the impedance over a widerange of the high impedance range E produced in the upper middle part ofthe front face b of the housing 22, so the unnecessary radiation fromthis range E can be reduced, and the unnecessary radiation that isgenerated in the RF cable 24 connected to the F-type connector 23 can beeffectively reduced. As a result, the impedance distribution over thehousing is less apt to be affected by variance in the state of the RFcable 24 (type, material, shape, etc.), and the effect is that lessunnecessary radiation is caused by variance in the state of the signalcable.

Third Embodiment

FIGS. 19A and 19B show a third embodiment of the present disclosure.

In FIG. 11, which shows the first embodiment, the second grounding site22 w is disposed on the bottom edge k of the left face e of the housing22, but here a second grounding site 22 wo is disposed at a positionthat is away from the housing 22.

More specifically, in FIG. 19A, the second grounding site (second site)22 wo is disposed at the distal end of an extension line Lo, with thisextension line Lo connected to the bottom edge k of the left face e ofthe housing 22, when the distance from the high impedance range B in adeveloped view of the housing 22 to the bottom edge k of the left face eof the housing 22 is less than the distance of half a wavelength (λ/2)at a specific oscillation signal (in FIG. 19A, 6.8 GHz) of the VCO/PLLcircuit 3.

As shown in FIG. 19B, the extension line Lo is such that a leg 22 nprovided to the bottom edge k of the left face e of the housing 22 isinserted into a through-hole 20 s in a land 20 x provided in anungrounded state to the main board 20, and the leg 22 n is fixed withsolder 25, after which one end of a metal line 35 (serving as theextension line Lo) is connected to a portion of this solder 25, and theother end of the metal line 35 is connected to the grounding pattern 20c disposed on the rear face of the main board 20 (as the secondgrounding site 22 wo).

Since the metal line 35 is a point-to-point construction, in FIG. 19Athe configuration is such that the combined length of the metal line 35and the distance from the high impedance range B of the housing 22 tothe bottom edge k of the left face e of the housing 22 will be equal toa distance of half a wavelength (λ/2) at a specific oscillation signal(in FIG. 19A, 6.8 GHz) of the VCO/PLL circuit 3.

Therefore, in this embodiment, even if the housing is relatively smallin size, the second grounding site 22 wo that is separated from thehousing 22 will be able to reduce the impedance over a wide range of thehigh impedance range B of that housing 22.

Furthermore, with this configuration, as can be seen from FIG. 19A, eventhough a site that is separated from both of the two high impedanceranges A and B of the housing 22 by a distance of half a wavelength(λ/2) at the oscillation frequency (6.8 GHz) is on the outside of adeveloped view of the housing 22, the impedance can easily be lowered inboth of the high impedance ranges A and B by the second grounding site22 wo that is separated from the housing 22.

Modification Examples

FIGS. 20A to 20C show modification examples of this embodiment.

In the third embodiment, the second grounding site 22 wo was disposedoutside the housing 22, but in this modification example, the secondgrounding site is disposed in an area of the main board (specific area)located under the housing 22.

In FIG. 20A, a second grounding site (second site) 22 w 1 is disposedtoward an area of the main board located under the housing 22, with theextension line Lo between it and the bottom edge k of the left face e ofthe housing 22.

A specific example of this is shown in FIG. 20B. In FIG. 20B, the leg 22n provided to the bottom edge k on the left face e of the housing 22 isattached with solder 25 to a land 20 x of the main board 20. Copperfoil, for example, constituting the grounding pattern 20 c is cut awayaround this land 20 x of the main board 20, and the copper foil is cutaway so as to form a wiring pattern (wire) 20 m as the extension line Lothat faces toward an area of the main board located under the housing 22from this land 20 x. Therefore, the leg 22 n of the housing 22 isconnected to the grounding pattern 20 c via the linear wiring pattern 20m, and the connection point between the wiring pattern 20 m and thegrounding pattern 20 c forms the second grounding site 22 w 1.

The length of the wiring pattern 20 m is determined as follows. In thismodification example, since the wiring pattern 20 m is disposed on themain board 20, the wavelength λ′ of the oscillation signal is shortenedon the main board 20 by the dielectric constant er of the main board 20to 1/(er^(1/2)) the wavelength λ in a vacuum. For example, if thedistance from the position of the high impedance range B of the housing22 to the bottom edge k of the left face e of the housing 22 is 90% ofthe wavelength λ/2 in the air (two times λ/4), then a distance of 10% of¼ times the wavelength λ′ at the dielectric constant er should be usedfor the line length of the wiring pattern 20 m. More specifically, if welet the dielectric constant er of the main board 20 be 4, and theoscillation frequency f of the oscillation signal be 8 GHz, then thewavelength λ′ at the dielectric constant er is as follows.

λ′=(1/(er ^(1/2)))λ=(½)×(c/f)

c: speed of light=(½)×(3×10⁸/(8×10⁹))=0.01875 m=18.75 mm

Therefore, the line length can be calculated as 18.75×(¼)×0.1=0.46875 mm0.5 mm

FIG. 20C is a cross section along the C-C line at the site of the wiringpattern 20 m in FIG. 20B. If the characteristic impedance of theextension line Lo (the wiring pattern 20 m) on the main board 20 is setto 75Ω to match the typical design specifications of a tuner device usedfor television broadcasts, and if we let the dielectric constant er ofthe main board 20 be 4 and the height h be 400 μm, and if we let thethickness t of the wiring pattern 20 m be 35 μm, for example, then if weuse an ordinary line impedance design tool to calculate the width s ofthe wiring pattern 20 m and the cut-away width w of the copper foil (thespacing between the wiring pattern 20 m and the grounding pattern 20 c),the width s of the wiring pattern 20 m and the cut-away width w of thecopper foil are both calculated to be s=w=200 μm, and are decided assuch. Naturally, the characteristic impedance of the extension line Loon the main board 20 does not have to be set to 75Ω, and may be setanywhere between a few dozen ohms and a few hundred ohms, for example.

Therefore, in this modification example, since the second grounding site22 w 1 is disposed in an area of the main board located under thehousing 22, even if a microprocessor, a memory, or the like is disposednear the housing 22 on the outside, these devices will not get in theway, and the second grounding site 22 w 1 can be properly disposed atthe accurate spacing of the length of the wiring pattern 20 m from thehousing 22.

In this modification example, the extension line Lo is formed by thewiring pattern 20 m, and its shape is linear, but the wiring pattern 20m may instead be in the shape of an arc extending around the land 20 x,or in a shape that extends in an undulating form, or a through-holeformed in the main board 20 may be utilized to ground to the groundingpattern 20 c on the rear face of the main board 20 and to extend thedistance, etc.

Fourth Embodiment

A fourth embodiment of the present disclosure will now be describedthrough reference to FIG. 21.

In the first embodiment shown in FIG. 11, in a developed view of thehousing 22, the second grounding site (second site) 22 w was newlydisposed on the bottom edge k of the left face e of the housing 22, as aposition that was two times ¼ the wavelength λ (λ/2) of oscillationfrequency (6.8 GHz) away in straight line distance from the point at theoscillation frequency of 6.8 GHz of higher impedance within the alreadyhigh impedance range B, but the configuration may be such that insteadof this second grounding site, the peripheral configuration of the firstgrounding site 22 s provided to the housing 22 is deformed to lower theimpedance of the high impedance range B.

More specifically, in FIG. 21, taking advantage of the fact that theimpedance is theoretically lower at a position that is an even-numberedmultiple of ¼ the wavelength λ of the oscillation signal away from agrounding site than a predetermined specific impedance, a configurationis employed in which one end of an extension line L2 is connected to theright corner 22 s of the rear face d of the housing 22, the other end ofthis extension line L2 is grounded, and the distance from this groundingsite 22 w 2 (the other end of the extension line L2) (second site),through the extension line L2 and the right corner 22 s of the rear faced of the housing 22, to a point of high impedance in the high impedancerange B is set to be an even-numbered multiple of (two times) ¼ thewavelength λ (=λ/2) at the oscillation frequency (6.8 GHz) of theoscillation signal.

Therefore, with this embodiment, when extension line L2 is apoint-to-point construction, there is no reduction of the wavelengthtied to dielectric constant, so the line length of the extension line L2may be the actual length found by subtracting the distance between thehigh impedance point and the right corner 22 s of the rear face d of thehousing 22 from a length that is two times ¼ the wavelength λ (=λ/2) atthe oscillation frequency (6.8 GHz) of the oscillation signal.

Modification Example of Extension Line

FIGS. 22A to 22C show first modification examples of the extension lineL extending from a corner of the housing 22. In the above embodiment,instead of having the extension line L be linear in shape, the extensionline L2 was formed in the shape of an arc extending so as to surroundthe outside of the land 20 g in FIG. 22A. FIG. 22B shows an extensionline L3 formed in a combination of an arc shape that extends surroundingthe outside of the land 20 g and a linear shape that extends from thedistal end of the arc toward an area of the main board located under thehousing 22. FIG. 22C shows an extension line L4 formed in a crenelatedshape that extends from the land 20 g. In these modification examples,it is possible to ground to a position near the land 20 g, sointerference with other wiring of the tuner circuit can be avoided, anda decrease in the grounding effect caused by greatly splitting up thegrounding pattern can be prevented.

FIG. 23 shows second modification examples of the extension line L. Inthe drawings, the line length is adjusted by utilizing a through-holeformed in the main board 20.

More specifically, an extension line L5 is made up of a wiring pattern20 q that extends from the ungrounded land 20 g toward an area of themain board located under the housing 22 as shown in FIG. 23A, athrough-hole 20 t that is formed at the distal end of this wiringpattern 20 q as shown in FIG. 23B, and the grounding pattern 20 c thatis formed on the lower face of the main board 20 and is connected to thelower end of this through-hole 20 t as shown in FIGS. 23B and 23 c.Therefore, in this modification example, the line length of theextension line L5 is the total length of the wiring pattern 20 q plusthe height of the through-hole 20 t.

With the above embodiment and the first and second modificationexamples, since the extension lines L2 to L5 make use of wiring patternsformed on the main board 20, there is no need for other members such asmetal wires, and the extension lines L2 to L5 can be simply configured.

FIG. 24 shows a third modification example of the extension line L. InFIG. 24, a metal wire L5 is used, one end thereof is attached to theland 20 g with solder 25, and the other end is connected to thegrounding pattern 20 c of the main board 20, with this connection pointserving as a grounding site 22 w′.

FIG. 25 shows a fourth modification example of the extension line L. InFIG. 25, a metal wire or other such wire-shaped conductor L6 is used asthe extension line L. More specifically, the wiring pattern 20 qconnected to the land 20 g located at a corner of the housing 22 isformed on the upper face of the main board 20, a through-hole 20 o thatis connected to the this wiring pattern 20 q and another through-hole 20p disposed to the side of the through-hole 20 o are provided, the endsof the wire-shaped conductor L6, which has been bent in an inverted Ushape, are inserted into these two through-holes 20 o and 20 p andattached with solder 25, and the lower end of the through-hole 20 p isconnected to the grounding pattern 20 c formed on the lower face of themain board 20.

Therefore, in this fourth modification example, the distance between thecorner of the housing 22 (land 20 g) and the grounding site 22 w′ can beadjusted merely by adjusting the length of the wire-shaped conductor L6and the wiring pattern 20 q.

FIG. 26 shows a fifth modification example of the extension line L. InFIG. 26, a through-hole 20 o is formed to the side of the land 20 glocated at a corner of the housing 22, one end of a leaf spring-shapedconductor L7 is inserted into this through-hole 20 o and the one end ofthe conductor L7 is attached to the through-hole 20 o with solder 25while the other end contacts with the side face of the housing 22, andthe lower end of the through-hole 20 o is connected to the groundingpattern 20 c formed on the lower face of the main board 20.

Therefore, in this modification example, the distance between the cornerof the housing 22 (land 20 g) and the grounding site 22 w′ can beadjusted merely by adjusting the length of the leaf spring-shapedconductor L7.

In all of the modification examples of the extension line L describedabove, the length of the extension line L can be freely increased ordecreased, so the distance from the high impedance point P of thehousing 22 to the grounding site 22 w can be accurately set to aneven-numbered multiple of ¼ the wavelength λ, regardless of theoscillation frequency range of the oscillation signal of the VCO/PLLcircuit 3.

Fifth Modification Example

A fifth modification example of the present disclosure will now bedescribed through reference to FIGS. 27A and 27B.

In the fourth embodiment (FIG. 21), grounding was done at the groundingsite 22 w 2 from the right corner 22 s of the rear face d and throughthe extension line L2 in a developed view of the housing 22, but in thisembodiment, the grounding site 22 w 2 is an open site, rather than beinggrounded, and the length of the extension line L2 is changed.

More specifically, in this embodiment, in the developed view of thehousing 22 in FIG. 27A, one end of the extension line L3 is connected tothe right corner 22 s of the rear face d, and the other end of thisextension line L3 is open, so that the other end of the extension lineL3 serves as an open site (second site) 22 op of the housing 22.

In a developed view of the housing 22, the point P is the point nearestthe right corner 22 s of the rear face d among points of a distance thatis three times ¼ the wavelength λ at the lowest frequency (in thedrawing, 6 GHz) in the variable frequency range of the oscillationsignal of the VCO/PLL circuit 3 from the left corner 22 r of the frontface b (points within the high impedance range B shown in FIG. 6B), andline length of the extension line L3 is set so that the total distanceobtained by adding the distance from this point P to the land 20 g atthe right corner 22 s of the rear face d of the housing 22 and thedistance from this land 20 g to the open site 22 op (that is the linelength of the extension line L3) will correspond to a value (λ/4) thatis an odd-numbered multiple of (one times) ¼ the wavelength λ at thelowest frequency (6 GHz) in the variable frequency range of theoscillation signal.

As already discussed, with a housing 22 in which the oscillationfrequency of the oscillator is high and the impedance is distributedelement manner, by using the grounding site of the left corner 22 r ofthe front face b as a reference impedance, the impedance is higher thana predetermined specific impedance at the point P that is anodd-numbered multiple (three times) of λ/4 away from this grounding sitein straight line distance in a developed view, but with this embodiment,since the impedance at the point P can be lowered to be less than aspecific impedance, which is a site at a distance that is anodd-numbered multiple (one times) of ¼ the wavelength λ at the lowestfrequency (6 GHz) of the oscillation signal away from the open site 22op of the housing 22 (the other end of the extension line L3), theimpedance can be actively lowered in the range around the high impedancepoint P.

If the extension line L3 is a point-to-point construction, there will beno reduction in wavelength tied to dielectric constant. Therefore, theactual line length of the extension line L3 may be used in calculatingthe distance to the high impedance point P.

The configuration in which the other end of the extension line L3 isopen can be the configuration shown in FIG. 27B, for example. Theconfiguration in FIG. 27B, as can be seen from a comparison of theconfiguration in FIG. 19B, is such that the other end of the metal line35 constituting the extension line L3 is connected to an ungroundedpattern (first conductor) 37, which is an open pattern that is notconnected to the grounding pattern 20 c disposed on the rear face of themain board 20, on the rear face of the main board 20, and the other endof the metal line 35 is open.

A configuration in which the other end of the extension line L3 is opencan also be applied to the already discussed configurations in FIG. 20B,FIGS. 22A to 22C, FIGS. 23A to 23C, and FIGS. 24, 25, and 26. Hereagain, just as discussed above, an ungrounded pattern may be providedthat is not connected to the grounding pattern 20 c disposed on the rearor front face of the main board 20, and the other end of the extensionline L may be connected to this ungrounded pattern. This is not shown inthe drawings.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the impedance at the point P that is thehigh impedance range can be actively lowered by opening the other end ofthe extension line L3, so the occurrence of unnecessary radiation can beeliminated even more.

Sixth Embodiment Features of this Embodiment

This embodiment makes use of a configuration in which unnecessaryradiation can be easily, effectively, and reliably reduced even when anyof the various dimensions of the housing 22 cannot be made less than thehalf wavelength (λ/2) at the highest oscillation frequency (8 GHz), asdiscussed above. This will be described in detail below.

Specification of Candidates of Grounding Sites

First of all, candidates of grounding sites are specified arbitrarily.These grounding sites will be described by using an example of when thenumber of grounding sites shown in FIG. 4A is small, that is, when twogrounding sites are specified, which are the left-front corner and theright-rear corner in FIG. 4A. These specified sites may be othercorners, or there may be three sites, four sites, etc., as in FIGS. 4Band 4C.

FIGS. 28A and 28B show the range where the impedance is higher in thehousing 22, when the grounding sites are at the left-front corner andthe right-rear corner of the housing 22, as mentioned above.

The housing 22 is formed in a tetragonal shape by working a single pieceof sheet metal. FIG. 7 is a developed view of the housing 22, and thefour-sided housing 22 is produced by bending the four side faces b to ewith respect to the top face a in the developed view of the housing 22.Legs 22 h, 22 i, 22 j, and 22 k that extend downward for grounding tothe main board 20 are formed at the both lower corners of the front faceb, in which an attachment hole 23 a for the F-type connector 23 isformed, and the rear face d, and four-sided holes 221, 22 m, 22 n, and22 o are formed at positions above these legs 22 h to 22 k,respectively. Protrusions 22 c, 22 e, 22 f, and 22 g that fit into theholes 221 to 22 o formed in the front face b and the rear face d areformed at both lower corners of the two side faces c and e that touchthe front face b and the rear face d when folded. The housing 22 is thenconnected, in a state in which the single piece of sheet metal has beenbent and its assembly completed, to the grounding pattern 20 c of themain board 20.

The main board 20, meanwhile, is configured as follows. FIG. 8A showsthe main board 20, on which the housing 22 is disposed, as seen from therear face. The main board 20 shown in FIG. 8A has lands 20 e to 20 hformed at positions corresponding to the four corners of the housing 22.The lands 20 e and 20 g corresponding to the two corners 22 r and 22 sof the housing 22 serving as the grounding sites are connected to thegrounding pattern 20 c disposed on the rear face of the main board 20,and the other two lands 20 f and 20 h are not connected to the groundingpattern 20 c. In FIG. 8A, 20 d is a land for connecting the F-typeconnector 23 to a signal pattern (not shown) on the main board 20.

As shown in FIGS. 8B and 8C, the four lands 20 e to 20 h of the mainboard 20 have through-holes 20 s formed at positions corresponding tothe four corners of the housing 22. At the lands 20 e and 20 gcorresponding to the two corners 22 r and 22 s serving as the groundingsites of the housing 22, as shown in FIG. 8B, the through-holes 20 s areconnected to the grounding pattern 20 c disposed on the front faceand/or rear face of the main board 20, and at the lands 20 f and 20 hcorresponding to the other two corners 22 t and 22 u of the housing 22that are not grounded, as shown in FIG. 8C, the through-holes 20 s arenot connected to the grounding pattern 20 c.

As shown in FIG. 8A, of the legs 22 h to 22 k on the front face b andthe rear face d of the housing 22, the leg 22 h in the left corner 22 rof the front face b and the leg 22 k in the right corner 22 s of therear face d that are to be grounded are inserted into the through-holes20 s in the main board 20, and in this state the through-holes 20 s andthe legs 22 h and 22 k are attached with the solder 25, thus connectingthese legs 22 h and 22 k to the grounding pattern 20 c of the main board20.

Meanwhile, at the two corners 22 t and 22 u of the housing 22 that arenot grounded, just as with the corners 22 r and 22 s that are grounded,the legs 22 i and 22 j are inserted into the through-holes 20 s of themain board 20, and in this state the through-holes 20 s and the legs 22i and 22 j are attached with the solder 25, thus fixing the two corners22 t and 22 u of the housing 22 that are not grounded, to the lands 20 fand 20 h of the main board 20, but not connecting them to the groundingpattern 20 c.

With the above configuration, in this embodiment, because of theconfiguration of the housing 22 shown in FIG. 7, in a state in which asingle piece of sheet metal has been bent into the hollow, four-sidedhousing 22, the lower corner 22 p of the left face e and the uppercorner 22 q of the right face c will have a low degree of groundingthrough mechanical engagement between the protrusions 22 c and 22 f andthe holes 221 and 22 o in FIG. 7, so as shown in FIG. 8A, when the frontface lower-left corner 22 r and the rear face lower-right corner 22 s ofthe housing 22 are grounded, in the developed view of the housing 22shown in FIGS. 28A and 28B, the left corner 22 r of the front face b andthe right corner 22 s of the rear face d will be the groundingpotentials, and the grounding effect at the two corners 22 p and 22 qwith the above-mentioned low degree of grounding can be ignored.

Establishing High Impedance Range in Housing

As discussed above, the highest frequency of the oscillation signal atthe VCO/PLL circuit 3 is 8 GHz, and when the wavelength λ shortens toabout 40 mm, if the size of the housing 22 exceeds the half wavelength(λ/2), then impedance will be a distributed element in the housing 22,which serves as the propagation path for the oscillation signal. Withthis distributed element circuit, a grounding site serves as thereference impedance, and a site that is an odd-numbered multiple of λ/4away from this grounding site will be an open end, resulting in highimpedance. When a plurality of grounding sites are provided, overlappingparts of sites that are an odd-numbered multiple of λ/4 away from thesegrounding sites will have the highest impedance.

More specifically, in the developed view of the housing 22 shown in FIG.28B, as discussed above, there are two ground potentials, namely, theleft corner 22 r of the front face b and the right corner 22 s of therear face d, so the highest impedance is at a site that is anodd-numbered multiple of λ/4 away from both of these grounding sites 22r and 22 s. In FIG. 28B, there are drawn a high impedance range A inwhich a high impedance portion that is λ/4 away from the left corner 22r of the front face b overlaps a high impedance portion that is threetimes λ/4 away from the right corner 22 s of the rear face d, and arange B in which a high impedance portion that is λ/4 away from theright corner 22 s of the rear face d overlaps a high impedance portionthat is three times λ/4 away from the left corner 22 r of the front faceb. When the left corner 22 r of the front face b and the right corner 22s of the rear face d thus serve as ground potentials in a developed viewof the housing 22, the high impedance ranges A and B occur in thelower-left corner and the upper-right corner of the top face a, and thefront face b and the rear face d. In the above-mentioned high impedanceranges A and B, the points indicated by circles show a high impedancepoint that is λ/4 away from the left corner 22 r of the front face b andis three times λ/4 away from the right corner 22 s of the rear face d,and a high impedance point that is λ/4 away from the right corner 22 sof the rear face d and is three times λ/4 away from the left corner 22 rof the front face b, when the frequency of the oscillation signal of theVCO/PLL circuit 3 is 6 GHz, 6.5 GHz, 6.8 GHz, and 6.9 GHz.

Therefore, in the developed view of FIG. 28B, a large amount ofunnecessary radiation occurs in the above-mentioned two high impedanceranges A and B.

FIGS. 28A and 28B show the high impedance ranges A and B that occur whenthe sheet metal shown in FIG. 7 is bent into the housing 22, but if thedegree of grounding is increased by securely joining the places wherethe front face b and the rear face d touch the right face c and the leftface e by soldering, etc., after bending the sheet metal shown in FIG.7, for example, then as shown in FIG. 29, the lower corner 22 p of theleft face e and the left corner 22 r of the front face b will have thesame potential, and the upper corner 22 q of the right face c and theright corner 22 s of the rear face d will have the same potential, thesewill serve as the ground potentials, and there will be four groundingsites in a developed view of the housing 22. In this case, the highimpedance ranges C and D occur in the lower-left corner and theupper-right corner of the top face a, and a large amount of unnecessaryradiation is generated from these ranges C and D.

FIG. 30 shows the state when the housing 22 is produced using the sheetmetal shown in FIG. 7, and the left corner 22 r and the right corner 22v of the front face b (two sites) have been grounded. In these drawings,the high impedance ranges E and F occur in the middle upper part of thefront face b and the middle upper part of the rear face d, and a largeamount of unnecessary radiation is generated from these ranges E and F.With this grounding, the surface area of the high impedance ranges issmaller than with the grounding shown in FIGS. 28A and 28B or thegrounding shown in FIG. 29, but some still occurs.

Reducing High Impedance Range of Housing

As discussed above, high impedance ranges occur in the housing 22, andthe location and surface area of these high impedance ranges vary withthe grounding sites of the housing 22. In this embodiment, aconfiguration is employed that reliably reduces the size of these highimpedance ranges. This will be described in specific terms below.

FIG. 31A shows a configuration in which the high impedance ranges thatoccur in the housing are reduced in size by modifying the configurationof grounding the left corner 22 r of the front face b and the rightcorner 22 s of the rear face d to the grounding pattern 20 c of the mainboard 20 in the developed view of the housing 22 in FIG. 28B, that is,in the grounded state shown in FIG. 28B.

In this drawing, the high impedance range B (see FIGS. 28A and 28B) thatoccurred in the developed view of the housing 22 is reduced in size. Aspreviously discussed, with a housing 22 in which the oscillationfrequency of the oscillator is high and impedance is a distributedelement, when a grounding site is used as the reference impedance, at aposition that is an odd-numbered multiple of λ/4 away from thisgrounding site, the impedance is higher than a predetermined impedance.Therefore, in the developed view of the housing 22 shown in FIG. 28B,the range over which an area that is three times λ/4 away from the leftcorner 22 r of the front face b in straight line distance overlaps anarea that is one times λ/4 away from the right corner 22 s of the rearface d becomes the high impedance range B.

In this embodiment, as can be seen from FIG. 31A, a configuration isemployed in which the left corner (first specific first site (firstsite)) 22 r of the front face b is grounded, one end of the extensionline L is connected to the right corner 22 g of the rear face d, theother end (second specific first site (second site)) of this extensionline L is used as the grounding site 22 w, and the housing 22 isconnected to the grounding pattern 20 c of the main board 20.

FIG. 31B shows a specific example of a configuration in which the rightcorner 22 g of the rear face d is grounded to the grounding pattern 20 cof the main board 20 via the extension line L.

In FIG. 31B, a leg 22 n provided to the right corner of the rear face dof the housing 22 is inserted into a through-hole 20 s in the ungroundedland 20 g provided to the main board 20, and the leg is attached withsolder 25, after which one end of a metal line 35 (the extension line L)is connected to a portion of this solder 25, and the other end of thismetal line 35 is connected to the grounding pattern 20 c disposed on therear face of the main board 20.

In this embodiment, in the developed view of the housing 22 in FIG. 31A,if we let P be the point nearest the right corner 22 g of the rear faced out of the points at a distance that is three times ¼ the wavelength λat the highest frequency (6 GHz in the drawing) in the variablefrequency range of the oscillation signal of the VCO/PLL circuit 3 fromthe left corner (first specific first site (first site)) 22 r of thefront face b (the points within the high impedance range B shown in FIG.28B), the line length of the extension line L is set so that thecombined distance of the distance from this point P to the land 20 g ofthe right corner of the rear face d of the housing 22 and the distancefrom this land 20 g to the grounding site 22 w (that is, the line lengthof the extension line L) will correspond to one times ¼ the wavelength λat the lowest frequency (6 GHz) in the variable frequency range of theoscillation signal. That is, the line length of the extension line L isset so that an area that is three times ¼ the wavelength λ in thevariable frequency range of the oscillation signal of the VCO/PLLcircuit 3 from the left corner (first specific first site (first site))22 r of the front face b of the housing 22 (this area (first specificfirst area (first area)) is indicated by the thick solid line in FIG.31A), and an area that is one times ¼ the wavelength λ in the variablefrequency range from the grounding site (second specific first site(second site)) 22 w (this area (second specific first area (secondarea)) is indicated by the thick broken line in FIG. 31A) overlap at thepoint P (one point).

The extension line L in this embodiment is a point-to-pointconstruction, so wavelength contraction tied to dielectric constant doesnot occur. Therefore, the actual line length of the extension line Lshould be used in calculating the distance to the high impedance pointP.

Therefore, with this embodiment, a high impedance range produced in thehousing 22 will only be at the high impedance point P that occurs at thelowest frequency (6 GHz) at which the wavelength λ of the oscillationsignal is the longest, so the high impedance range that is produced willbe narrowest. Thus, with this embodiment, unnecessary radiation producedfrom the housing 22 can be effectively reduced.

Also, an example was given in this embodiment in which the highimpedance range was contracted to just a single point (the highimpedance point P), but the present invention is not limited to this,and can of course be similarly applied when the line length of theextension line L is set shorter the above-mentioned line length and therange is reduced to be smaller than the conventional high impedancerange B shown in FIGS. 28A and 28B even if the high impedance range isbroader than the above example.

Generalized Model of Reducing High Impedance Range

Next, using a generalized model to reduce the size of the conventionalhigh impedance range B discussed above will be described.

In FIG. 32A, points A and B are grounding sites, and are disposed at adistance 1 away from each other. Point C is separated from points A andB by nλ/4 and mλ/4, respectively. As discussed above, if the constants nand m are odd numbers, point C represents a high impedance site.

If we let the coordinates of points A, B and C be (x_(a),y_(a))=(0,0),(x_(b),y_(b))=(0,1), and (x_(c),y_(c)), we obtain the followingequations.

nλ/4=√(x _(c) ² +y _(c) ²),mλ/4=√{x _(c) ²+(1−y _(c))²}

∴m ²(x _(c) ² +y _(c) ²)=n ² {x _(c) ²+(1−y _(c))²}

when m=n, y_(c)=½

when m>n, x_(c) ²+{y_(c)+n²1/(m²−n²)}²=(nml)²/(m²−n²)

Thus, when the wavelength λ is varied, the path of the points C becomesthe center line of AB when m=n, and when m>n, the path scribes an arcwith a center of (0, n²1/(m²−n²)) and a radius of nml/≈(m²−n²).

Also, if we let the oscillation frequency be f1≤f≤f2, the wavelengthλ=c/f falls within a range of λ2≤λ≤λ1 (the range drawn with a thick linein FIG. 32B in the case of an arc), and the high impedance range relatedto unnecessary radiation is the range of λ2≤λ≤λ1 on an arc or theabove-mentioned center line AB (the range drawn with a thick line inFIG. 32B in the case of an arc).

If the high impedance range related to unnecessary radiation shown inFIG. 32B can be narrowed as much as possible, then the range ofinfluence of the unnecessary radiation can be reduced. Also, if the highimpedance range related to unnecessary radiation has been kept narrow,another impedance reduction means can be applied to this narrow highimpedance range to completely eliminate unnecessary radiation.

Here, since impedance can usually be kept low within a range of adistance of λ/20 from the grounding site, it is common for a pluralityof grounding sites provided to a housing or substrate, particularly onewith no limitations on cost or shape, to be designed at a spacing ofλ/10 between them, and for the intermediate position between thesegrounding sites to be at a distance of exactly λ/20 from the groundingsites.

Because of this, with the present disclosure, if the spacing between twoareas of high impedance can be kept within a width range of λ/10(specific threshold), it will be possible for the overall area of highimpedance to be limited to a narrow range. This will be described indetail through reference to FIG. 32B. In FIG. 32B, when the oscillationfrequency f of the VCO/PLL circuit 3 is the lowest frequency f1, forexample, an area (first specific first area (first area)) on a circlewith a radius of (¼) nλ1 and centered on a grounding point A (firstspecific first site (first site)) (this area is indicated with the thicksolid line in FIG. 32B), and an area (second specific first area (secondarea)) on a circle with a radius of (¼) mλ1 and centered on a anothergrounding point B (second specific first site (second site)) (this areais indicated with the medium solid line in FIG. 32B) overlap at twopoints, and it is preferable if the distance D1 between these two pointsfalls within a range of 1/10 the width λ1 (specific threshold).Similarly, when the oscillation frequency f of the VCO/PLL circuit 3 isthe highest frequency f2, an area (first specific first area (firstarea)) on a circle with a radius of (¼) nλ2 and centered on a groundingpoint A (first specific first site (first site)) (this area is indicatedwith the thick broken line in FIG. 32B), and an area (second specificfirst area (second area)) on a circle with a radius of (¼) mλ2 andcentered on the another grounding point B (second specific first site(second site)) (this area is indicated with the medium broken line inFIG. 32B) overlap at two points, and the distance D2 between these twopoints is shorter than the distance D1 between the two points at theabove-mentioned lowest frequency f1 (D2<D1). The variation in thedistribution of a high impedance range that can be generated by afrequency related to unnecessary radiation, and the distance between twogrounding sites A and B, will now be described through reference toFIGS. 33A to 33F.

Variation in Distribution of High Impedance Range

FIG. 33A shows the case when the spacing between two points of highimpedance at the highest frequency f2 related to unnecessary radiationis greater than 1/10 the wavelength λ2 at that frequency. Here, two highimpedance ranges each include the total frequency range, and are thewidest state. Also, the two high impedance ranges are distributed sothat they are spaced apart at a spacing that is greater than 1/10 thewavelength λ2, so even if another impedance reduction means is employed,including the method discussed below, it will be difficult to lower theimpedance in both of the high impedance ranges at the same time.

In FIG. 33B, the spacing between two points of high impedance at thehighest frequency f2 related to unnecessary radiation is no more than1/10 the wavelength λ2 at that frequency. Consequently, despite the factthat the two high impedance ranges each include the total frequencyrange, if we let D be the midpoint of a line that connects two points ofhigh impedance at the highest frequency f2, for example, and lower theimpedance at the position of this point D by using an impedancereduction means, it is possible for the impedance to be sufficientlylowered within a range that is a distance of λ/20 from point D withinthe two high impedance ranges. Furthermore, if the spacing between twopoints of high impedance is further narrowed, this will increase thefrequency range that becomes a range of no more than the distance λ/20from point D, so it will increase the frequency range of further loweredimpedance within the two high impedance ranges. In the case in FIG. 33B,since the spacing between the two areas of high impedance is no morethan 1/10 the wavelength λ2, the entire range of high impedance can belimited to a narrow range, which is bounded by the broken line in FIG.33B. Therefore, another impedance reduction means can be used to lowerthe impedance in a high impedance range of an overall narrow area, sodesign is easier than when the impedance is lowered in a high impedancerange that is a wider range.

In FIG. 33C, points of high impedance at the highest frequency f2related to unnecessary radiation overlap at a single point. Here, thefrequency at which the spacing of two points of high impedance coincideswith 1/10 the wavelength λ at that frequency is represented as f3 in thedrawing. Here, f1<f3<f2, D is the midpoint of a line connecting twopoints of high impedance at the frequency f3, and another impedancereduction means (including the method discussed below) is usedconcurrently to lower the impedance at this point D, so that theimpedance can be sufficiently lowered within the range of thefrequencies f3 to f2 in the two high impedance ranges. In FIG. 33C, asshown bounded by a broken line, the entire range of high impedance canbe limited to a narrower range than in the case in FIG. 33B, so it iseven easier to come up with a design that lowers the impedance of thehigh impedance range in this narrow area.

In FIG. 33D, points of high impedance at a frequency f4 that is lowerthan the highest frequency f2 related to unnecessary radiation overlapat a single point. Here, the frequency at which the spacing between twopoints of high impedance coincides with 1/10 the wavelength at thatfrequency is represented as f5 (a frequency lower than the frequency f3in FIG. 33C (f5<f3)). Here, f1<f5<f4<f2, and even when the impedance isnot lowered at point D, there are no points of high impedance at afrequency higher than the frequency f4, and if we let D be the midpointof a line connecting two points of high impedance at the frequency f5,and another impedance reduction means (including the method discussedbelow) is used concurrently to lower the impedance at this point D, itis possible to sufficiently lower the impedance in the range of thefrequencies f5 to f4.

In FIG. 33E, the spacing between two points of high impedance at thelowest frequency f1 related to unnecessary radiation is no more than1/10 the wavelength λ1 at that frequency. In this case, f1<f4<f2, andeven if the impedance is not lowered at point D, there are no points ofhigh impedance at a frequency higher than the frequency f4, and if welet D be the midpoint of a line connecting two points of high impedanceat the lowest frequency f1, and another impedance reduction means(including the method discussed below) is used concurrently to lower theimpedance, it is possible to sufficiently lower the impedance over theentire frequency range f1 to f2.

In FIG. 33F, only one point (point D) of high impedance remains at thelowest frequency f1 related to unnecessary radiation, and impedance canbe completely lowered over the entire frequency range of f1 to f2 byconcurrently using another impedance reduction means (including themethod discussed below) and to lower the impedance at this point D.

As discussed above, to narrow a high impedance range, it is necessary atleast for the spacing between two points of high impedance at thehighest frequency f2 related to unnecessary radiation to be 1/10 thewavelength at that frequency (FIGS. 33B to 33F), and if possible, it ispreferable for the spacing between two points of high impedance at thelowest frequency f1 to be no more than 1/10 the wavelength at thatfrequency (FIGS. 33E and 33F) so that impedance can be lowered for theentire oscillation frequency range.

Seventh Embodiment

FIGS. 34A to 34D show a seventh embodiment of the present disclosure. Inthe sixth embodiment above, the grounding site 22 w of the corner (land)20 g was disposed outside the housing 22, but in this embodiment, thegrounding site is disposed in an area of the main board 20 in which thehousing 22 is disposed (hereinafter referred to as a “specific area”).

In FIG. 34A, an extension line L extends from the land 20 g of thecorner of the rear face d of the housing 22 toward a specific area ofthe main board 20 disposed under the housing 22, and the end of thisextension line L is grounded as a grounding site 22 w′.

A specific example of this is shown in FIGS. 34B and 34C. In FIGS. 34Band 34C, the leg 22 n provided to the right corner of the rear face d ofthe housing 22 is attached with solder 25 to the land 20 g of the mainboard 20. Copper foil, for example, that forms the grounding pattern 20c is cut away around the land 20 g of the main board 20, and the copperfoil is also cut away so as to form a wiring pattern 20 m as theextension line L from this land 20 g toward a specific area of the mainboard 20 under the housing 22. Therefore, the leg 22 n of the housing 22is connected to the grounding pattern 20 c via the wiring pattern 20 m,and the connection point between the wiring pattern 20 m and thegrounding pattern 20 c forms the grounding site 22 w′.

The length of the wiring pattern 20 m is determined as follows. In thisembodiment, since the wiring pattern 20 m is disposed on the main board20, the wavelength λ′ of the oscillation signal is shortened on the mainboard 20 by the dielectric constant er of the main board 20 to1/(er^(1/2)) the wavelength λ in a vacuum. For example, if the distancefrom the position of the high impedance point P of the housing 22 to theright corner 22 s of the rear face d of the housing 22 is 90% of ¼ timesthe wavelength λ, then a distance of 10% of ¼ times the wavelength λ′ atthe dielectric constant er should be used for the line length of thewiring pattern 20 m. More specifically, if we let the dielectricconstant er of the main board 20 be 4, and the oscillation frequency fof the oscillation signal be 6 GHz, then the wavelength λ′ at thedielectric constant er is as follows.

λ′=(1/(er ^(1/2)))λ=(½)×(c/f)

c: speed of light=(½)×(3×10⁸/(6×10⁹))=0.025 m=25.00 mm

Therefore, the line length can be calculated as 25.00×(¼)×0.1=0.625 mm0.6 mm

FIG. 34D is a cross section along the D-D line at the site of the wiringpattern 20 m in FIG. 34C. If the characteristic impedance of theextension line L (the wiring pattern 20 m) on the main board 20 is setto 75Ω to match the typical design specifications of a tuner device usedfor television broadcasts, and if we let the dielectric constant er ofthe main board 20 be 4 and the height h be 400 μm, and if we let thethickness t of the wiring pattern 20 m be 35 μm, for example, then if weuse an ordinary line impedance design tool to calculate the width s ofthe wiring pattern 20 m and the cut-away width w of the copper foil (thespacing between the wiring pattern 20 m and the grounding pattern 20 c),the width s of the wiring pattern 20 m and the cut-away width w of thecopper foil are both calculated to be s=w=200 μm, and are decided assuch. Naturally, the characteristic impedance of the extension line L onthe main board 20 does not have to be set to 75Ω, and may be setanywhere between a few dozen ohms and a few hundred ohms, for example.

Therefore, in this embodiment, since the second grounding site 22 w′ isdisposed in a specific area of the main board under the housing 22, evenif a microprocessor, a memory, or the like is disposed near the housing22 on the outside, these devices will not get in the way, and the secondgrounding site 22 w′ can be properly disposed at the accurate spacing ofthe length of the wiring pattern 20 m from the housing 22.

Modification Example of Extension Line

FIGS. 35A to 35C show first modification examples of the extension lineL extending from a corner of the housing 22. In the above embodiment,instead of having the extension line L be linear in shape, the extensionline L2 was formed in the shape of an arc extending so as to surroundthe outside of the land 20 g in FIG. 35A. FIG. 35B shows an extensionline L3 formed in a combination of an arc shape that extends surroundingthe outside of the land 20 g and a linear shape that extends from thedistal end of the arc toward a specific area of the main board 20 underthe housing 22. FIG. 35C shows an extension line L4 formed in acrenelated shape that extends from the land 20 g. In these modificationexamples, it is possible to ground to a position near the land 20 g, sointerference with other wiring of the tuner circuit can be avoided, anda decrease in the grounding effect caused by greatly splitting up thegrounding pattern can be prevented.

FIGS. 36A to 36C show second modification examples of the extension lineL. In the drawings, the line length is adjusted by utilizing athrough-hole formed in the main board 20.

More specifically, an extension line L5 is made up of a wiring pattern20 q that extends from the ungrounded land 20 g toward a specific areaof the main board 20 under the housing 22 as shown in FIG. 36A, athrough-hole 20 t that is formed at the distal end of this wiringpattern 20 q as shown in FIG. 36B, and the grounding pattern 20 c thatis formed on the lower face of the main board 20 and is connected to thelower end of this through-hole 20 t as shown in FIGS. 36B and 36C.Therefore, in this modification example, the line length of theextension line L5 is the total length of the wiring pattern 20 q plusthe height of the through-hole 20 t.

With the above embodiment and the first and second modificationexamples, since the extension lines L2 to L5 make use of wiring patternsformed on the main board 20, there is no need for other members such asmetal wires, and the extension lines L to L5 can be simply configured.

FIG. 37 shows a third modification example of the extension line L. InFIG. 37, a metal wire L5 is used, one end thereof is attached to theland 20 g with solder 25, and the other end is connected to thegrounding pattern 20 c of the main board 20, with this connection pointserving as a grounding site 22 w′.

FIG. 38 shows a fourth modification example of the extension line L. InFIG. 38, a metal wire or other such wire-shaped conductor L6 is used asthe extension line L. More specifically, the wiring pattern 20 qconnected to the land 20 g located at a corner of the housing 22 isformed on the upper face of the main board 20, a through-hole 20 o thatis connected to the this wiring pattern 20 q and another through-hole 20p disposed to the side of the through-hole 20 o are provided, the endsof the wire-shaped conductor L6, which has been bent in an inverted Ushape, are inserted into these two through-holes 20 o and 20 p andattached with solder 25, and the lower end of the through-hole 20 p isconnected to the grounding pattern 20 c formed on the lower face of themain board 20.

Therefore, in this fourth modification example, the distance between thecorner of the housing 22 (land 20 g) and the grounding site 22 w′ can beadjusted merely by adjusting the length of the wire-shaped conductor L6and the wiring pattern 20 q.

FIG. 39 shows a fifth modification example of the extension line L. InFIG. 39, a through-hole 20 o is formed to the side of the land 20 glocated at a corner of the housing 22, one end of a leaf spring-shapedconductor L7 is inserted into this through-hole 20 o and the one end ofthe conductor L7 is attached to the through-hole 20 o with solder 25while the other end contacts with the side face of the housing 22, andthe lower end of the through-hole 20 o is connected to the groundingpattern 20 c formed on the lower face of the main board 20.

Therefore, in this modification example, the distance between the cornerof the housing 22 (land 20 g) and the grounding site 22 w′ can beadjusted merely by adjusting the length of the leaf spring-shapedconductor L7.

In all of the modification examples of the extension line L describedabove, the length of the extension line L can be freely increased ordecreased, so the distance from the high impedance point P of thehousing 22 to the grounding site 22 w can be accurately set to anodd-numbered multiple of ¼ the wavelength λ, regardless of theoscillation frequency range of the oscillation signal of the VCO/PLLcircuit 3.

Eighth Embodiment

An eighth embodiment of the present disclosure will now be describedthrough reference to FIG. 40.

As shown in FIGS. 31A and 31B, in the sixth embodiment above the highimpedance point P was generated in the housing 22, but with thisembodiment, the impedance is lowered at the high impedance point P.

In this embodiment, in FIG. 40, in addition to the configuration inFIGS. 31A and 31B above, another grounding site (second site (thirdsite)) 22 s is disposed on the bottom edge k of the left face e in adeveloped view of the housing 22. As discussed above, with the housing22, in which the oscillation frequency of the oscillator is high and theimpedance is a distributed element, the impedance is higher than apredetermined specific impedance in an area that is an odd-numberedmultiple of λ/4 away using the grounding site as the referenceimpedance, but in an area (second area (third area)) that is aneven-numbered multiple of ¼ the wavelength λ of the oscillation signalaway, the impedance is lower than this specific impedance (specificthreshold). Therefore, in FIG. 40, in a developed view of the housing22, the grounding site 22 s is disposed at a position that is a lineardistance of ½ times (two times ¼) the wavelength λ of the lowestoscillation frequency (6 GHz) in a developed view of the housing 22 awayfrom the high impedance point P (the point at this oscillation frequencyof 6 GHz).

Therefore, in this embodiment, the impedance at the high impedance pointP generated in a developed view of the housing 22 can be lowered by thegrounding site 22 s. As a result, the unnecessary radiation from thehigh impedance point P produced by the two grounding sites (firstspecific first site (first site) and second specific first site (secondsite)) 22 r and 22 w can be effectively reduced by the above-mentionedother grounding site (second site (third site)) 22 s.

Also, just as with the above embodiment, this embodiment is effectivewhen the high impedance range spreads out somewhat.

Specifically, in FIGS. 33B to 33F, at the lowest oscillation frequencyat which the spacing between two points of high impedance is at or under1/10 the wavelength at that frequency, a grounding site is provided at aposition that is a linear distance of an even-numbered multiple of ¼ thewavelength λ at that frequency away from the midpoint (point D) of aline connecting two points of high impedance, which allows impedance tobe effectively lowered in the high impedance range.

Modification Example

FIG. 41 shows a modification example of this embodiment.

In this eighth embodiment, in addition to using the grounding site 22 wto ground a position that is separated from the right corner of the rearface d of the housing 22 by the extension line L, in this modificationexample, the left corner 22 r of the front face b and the land 22 sprovided to the bottom edge k of the left face e are also grounded bygrounding sites 22 j and 22 z via extension lines R1 and R2,respectively.

In this modification example, even if the lowest frequency of theoscillation signal of the VCO/PLL circuit 3 is lower than 6 GHz, or ifthe size of the housing 22 is relatively small, etc., since thedistances by which the three grounding sites 22 j, 22 w, and 22 z areseparated from the housing 22 can be freely adjusted, the impedance canbe lowered at the high impedance point P more reliably and easily.

Ninth Embodiment

A ninth embodiment of the present disclosure will now be describedthrough reference to FIG. 42.

In the sixth embodiment above, a grounding site was disposed at aposition of the housing 22 where only the high impedance point P wasgenerated, but in this embodiment, a grounding site is further disposedat a position where the high impedance range is eliminated.

Specifically, in FIGS. 31A and 31B of the sixth embodiment, a position Pat a distance of three times ¼ the wavelength λ at the lowest frequency(6 GHz) of the oscillation signal of the VCO/PLL circuit 3 away from theleft corner 22 r of the front face b of the housing 22 overlapped aposition P at a distance of one times ¼ the wavelength λ at the lowestfrequency (6 GHz) away from the grounding site 22 w separated by theextension line L from the land 20 g of the rear face d, and theimpedance was high at this overlapping point P, but in this embodiment,an extension line R is disposed in which the line length of theextension line L is longer than in FIGS. 31A and 31B, and thisconfiguration eliminates the generation of the high impedance point P.

With the above configuration, in this embodiment, the other end of theextension line R with a longer extension line is used as a groundingsite 22 x, and the distance M from this grounding site 22 x to the highimpedance point P can be a distance that exceeds one times ¼ thewavelength λ at the lowest frequency (6 GHz), so the generation of thehigh impedance point P can be eliminated, and no unnecessary radiationwill occur anywhere in the housing 22.

Furthermore, when the distance M is an even-numbered multiple of ¼ thewavelength λ (such as ½), the impedance can be directly lowered at thehigh impedance point P.

Tenth Embodiment

FIG. 43 shows a tenth embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 43, in this embodiment, the grounding site 22 y is at aposition that is separated by an extension line Y from the left corner22 r of the front face b of the housing 22, and the right corner 22 v ofthe front face b is a grounding site.

With the above configuration, in this embodiment overlapping sites canbe eliminated at distances of one and three times ¼ the wavelength λ ofthe oscillation signal of the VCO/PLL circuit 3 away from the groundingsites 22 y and 22 v.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 30, the high impedance ranges E and F can beeliminated in the upper middle part of the rear face d or the uppermiddle part of the front face b of the housing that occur when thecorners 22 r and 22 v are both grounding sites, which makes it possibleto eliminate the generation of unnecessary radiation.

Furthermore, in the front face b of the housing 22, a televisionbroadcast signal cable 24 is connected to the F-type connector 23attached to an attachment hole 23 a, and the high impedance range Eoccurs in the upper middle part of the front face b of the housing inFIG. 30 near this signal cable 24, but in this embodiment, since thegeneration of the high impedance range E is eliminated, the impedancedistribution over the housing is less apt to be affected by variance inthe state of the signal cable 24 (type, material, shape, etc.), and theeffect is that it is less likely that unnecessary radiation will becaused by variance in the state of the signal cable.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the high impedance range E that occursnear the F-type connector 23 was eliminated, but the present inventionis not limited to this. For instance, even if a high impedance rangeoccurs in the housing 22, the site where the high impedance range isgenerated should be at least a specific distance away from the F-typeconnector 23, to the extent that the unnecessary radiation produced fromthis high impedance range has either no effect or extremely littleeffect. Furthermore, when the distance from the grounding site 22 y tothe F-type connector 23 is an even-numbered multiple of ¼ the wavelengthλ (such as ½), the impedance can be directly lowered near the F-typeconnector 23.

In the ninth and tenth embodiments above, only one of two corners wasgrounded via the extension line R or Y, but all of the grounded cornersmay, of course, be grounded via an extension line.

Eleventh Embodiment

An eleventh embodiment of the present disclosure will now be describedthrough reference to FIGS. 44A and 44B.

In the sixth embodiment above (FIGS. 31A and 31B), in a developed viewof the housing 22, grounding was done at the grounding site 22 w via theextension line L from the right corner 22 g of the rear face d, but inthis embodiment, this grounding site 22 w is not grounded, and isinstead an open site, and the length of the extension line L is alsochanged.

More specifically, in this embodiment, in the developed view of thehousing 22 in FIG. 44A, one end of the extension line is connected tothe right corner 22 g of the rear face d, the other end of thisextension line L (a position other than a ground component of thehousing 22) is opened, and this other end of the extension line L servesas the open site 22 op of the housing 22.

In a developed view of the housing 22, the point P is the point nearestthe right corner 22 g of the rear face d among points of a distance thatis three times ¼ the wavelength λ at the lowest frequency (in thedrawing, 6 GHz) in the variable frequency range of the oscillationsignal of the VCO/PLL circuit 3 from the left corner 22 r of the frontface b (points within the high impedance range B shown in FIG. 28B), andline length of the extension line L is set so that the total distanceobtained by adding the distance from this point P to the land 20 g atthe right corner of the rear face d of the housing 22 and the distancefrom this land 20 g to the open site 22 op (that is the line length ofthe extension line L) will correspond to a value (λ/2) that is aneven-numbered multiple of (two times) ¼ the wavelength λ at the lowestfrequency (6 GHz) in the variable frequency range of the oscillationsignal.

Therefore, in this embodiment, with a housing 22, using the groundingsite of the left corner 22 r of the front face b as a referenceimpedance, since the point P is the only area that is an odd-numberedmultiple (three times) of λ/4 away from this grounding site in straightline distance in a developed view from this grounding site and at adistance that is an even-numbered multiple (two times) of ¼ thewavelength λ at the lowest frequency (6 GHz) of the oscillation signalaway from the open site 22 op of the housing 22 (the other end of theextension line L), the high impedance range generated becomes thenarrowest. Thus, in this embodiment, the unnecessary radiation from thehousing 22 can be effectively lowered.

If the extension line L is a point-to-point construction, there will beno reduction in wavelength tied to dielectric constant. Therefore, theactual line length of the extension line L may be used in calculatingthe distance to the high impedance point P.

The configuration in which the other end of the extension line L is opencan be the configuration shown in FIG. 44B, for example. Theconfiguration in FIG. 44B, as can be seen from a comparison of theconfiguration in FIG. 31B, is such that the other end of the metal line35 constituting the extension line L is connected to an ungroundedpattern 37, which is not connected to the grounding pattern 20 cdisposed on the rear face of the main board 20, on the rear face of themain board 20, and the other end of the metal line 35 is open.

A configuration in which the other end of the extension line L is opencan also be applied to the already discussed configurations in FIG. 34B,FIGS. 35A to 35C, FIGS. 36A to 36C, and FIGS. 37, 38, and 39. Hereagain, just as discussed above, an ungrounded pattern may be providedthat is not connected to the grounding pattern 20 c disposed on the rearor front face of the main board 20, and the other end of the extensionline L may be connected to this ungrounded pattern. This is not shown inthe drawings.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the impedance is actively lowered at thepoint P that becomes a high impedance range by opening the other end ofthe extension line L, so the generation of unnecessary radiation can beeliminated even more.

Modification Example

Thus, when the distance from the high impedance point P to the open site22 op is an even-numbered multiple of ¼ the wavelength λ (such as ½),the high impedance range of the housing 22 can be limited to the pointP, but the method discussed in the ninth embodiment can also be appliedin this embodiment.

Specifically, when the distance from the high impedance point P to theopen site 22 op is an even-numbered multiple of ¼ the wavelength λ (suchas ½), the high impedance point P can also be prevented from beinggenerated. Furthermore, when the distance from the high impedance pointP to the open site 22 op is further extended to an odd-numbered multipleof ¼ the wavelength λ (such as ¾), the impedance can be directly loweredat the high impedance point P.

Also, in FIGS. 40 and 41 of the eighth embodiment, instead of providinga grounding site at a distance that is an odd-numbered multiple of ¼ thewavelength λ (such as ¼) from the high impedance point, the same effectcan be obtained by providing an open site at a distance that is aneven-numbered multiple of ¼ the wavelength λ (such as ½) from the highimpedance point. Also, in FIG. 41, the impedance was lowered at the highimpedance point P by providing the grounding site 22 z at a distancethat is an even-numbered multiple of ¼ the wavelength λ (such as ½) fromthe high impedance point P via the extension line R2, but the sameeffect can instead be obtained by providing an open site at a distancethat is an odd-numbered multiple of ¼ the wavelength λ (such as ¾) fromthe high impedance point P via an extension line.

In Developed View of the Housing 22

When Connection Between Side Faces is Weak

In the developed view of the housing 22 shown in FIG. 7, duringassembly, there is no signal propagation between the side faces b-c,c-d, d-e, or e-b because of the weak connection between the adjacentside faces b, c, d, and e. Accordingly, signal propagation need beconsidered only between the four side faces b, c, d, and e and the topface a, so a developed view of the housing 22 need only be a developmentcentered on the top face a as shown in FIG. 45. Therefore, in thedeveloped view of the housing 22 in FIG. 45, when the left corner 22 rof the front face b is grounded, the oscillation signal propagates fromthe left corner 22 r of the front face b into the front face b, and thenpropagates through the tangent b-a between the front face b and the topface a to the top face a. The line connecting points that are at thepropagation distance λ/4 in signal propagation from the top face a tothe side faces c, d, and e other than the front face b is depicted as asolid line, the line connecting the points at the propagation distanceλ/2 is depicted as a broken line, and the line connecting the points atthe propagation distance 3λ/4 is depicted as a one-dot chain line.

When Connection Between Side Faces is Strong

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 46A, when parts that touch adjacentside faces (connected portions) are joined securely by soldering, forexample, so that there is a strong connection between the adjacent sidefaces, then signal propagation between the side faces b-c, c-d, d-e, ande-b also needs to be taken into account, in addition to signalpropagation between the side faces b, c, d, and e and the top face a.Accordingly, not only signal propagation in a developed view centered onthe top face a as in FIG. 45, but also signal propagation between sidefaces when other side faces are developed around the side faces b, c, d,and e also must be accounted for.

For instance, in FIG. 46B are added the left face (e′ face) developedfrom the rear face d, and the front face (b′ face) developed from theright face c. Also, the grounding site at the left face e correspondingto the grounding site 22 r in the left corner of the front face b islabeled 22 r′, while the corresponding grounding sites for the two newlydeveloped side faces b′ and e′ are labeled 22 e and 22 f″.

In FIG. 46B, just as in FIG. 45, in addition to the line connectingpoints at a propagation distance of λ/4, the line connecting points at apropagation distance of λ/2, and the line connecting points at apropagation distance of 3λ/4 in a propagation path of left corner 22r→within front face b→b-a tangent→within top face a→side faces c, d, ande, the line connecting points at a propagation distance of λ/4, the lineconnecting points at a propagation distance of λ/2, and the lineconnecting points at a propagation distance of 3λ/4 are each shown inthe propagation path of left corner 22 r′→within left face e→e-atangent→within top face a→side faces b, c, and d, the propagation pathof left corner 22 r″→within newly developed side face b ‘→b’-ctangent→within left face c→c-a tangent→within top face a, side faces dand e, and the propagation path of left corner 22 r′″→within newlydeveloped side face e′→e′-d tangent→within rear face d→d-atangent→within top face a→side faces b and c. Furthermore, at portionswhere these lines overlap, the connecting lines selected so that theshortest distances from the left corners 22 r, 22 r′, 22 r″, and 22 r′″will be λ/4, λ/2, and 3λ/4 are respectively shown as solid lines, brokenlines, and one-dot chain lines. These lines ultimately show propagationdistances of λ/4, λ/2, and 3λ/4 from the left corner 22 r.

Thus, when the connections between the side faces of the housing 22 arestrong, the developed view has to be supplemented by taking into accountall of the paths of strong electrical connections.

Other Embodiments

In the above description, the oscillation frequency range of theoscillation signal of the VCO/PLL circuit 3 was between 6 and 8 GHz,which is used for television broadcast reception, but the presentinvention is not limited to this, and another frequency range may beused instead.

Also, the circuit configuration of the tuner IC 10 was given as aspecific example in FIG. 1, but this configuration may of course bemodified, or another configuration may be added.

Furthermore, in the above description, a tuner device for televisionbroadcast reception was used as an example of this tuner device, but thepresent invention can of course be similarly applied to a tuner devicefor recording and reproduction, etc.

As described above, the present disclosure is useful when applied to atuner device such as one used for receiving television broadcasts or forrecording and reproduction, because even if a range of high impedance isgenerated in a housing due to grounding when a housing that covers anoscillator disposed on a substrate is grounded to the substrate, sinceanother grounding site or an open site that lowers the impedance in thishigh impedance range is disposed on the housing, unnecessary radiationfrom the housing can be effectively reduced.

As described above, with the present disclosure, when a housing thatcovers an oscillator disposed on a substrate is grounded by beingconnected to the substrate, the grounding site of the housing to thesubstrate is used as a reference impedance, and the grounding site isdisposed at a position where the overlapping range of the portion of thehousing of higher impedance than a specific impedance is narrowed oreliminated, so unnecessary radiation from the housing can be effectivelyreduced, which makes this invention useful for application to a tunerdevice used for television broadcast reception, recording andreproduction, etc.

With the present disclosure, a display device can be provided in whichan oscillator is disposed on a substrate, and with which lessunnecessary radiation is emitted from the conductive housing connectedto the ground component of a substrate. Specifically, with the displaydevice in accordance with the present disclosure, the housing 22 isconnected to the first sites 22 r and 22 s of the ground component ofthe substrate, and to the second site 22 w that is different from thefirst sites 22 r and 22 s. The first sites 22 r and 22 s and the secondsite 22W are such that the first area B of the housing 22 at which theimpedance is higher than the first threshold due to the first site 22 rand 22 s is disposed at a position overlapping at least part of thesecond area of the housing 22 at which the impedance is lower than thesecond threshold due to the second site. Therefore, the first area B ofthe housing at which the impedance is higher is smaller, so theunnecessary radiation emitted from the housing is reduced.

Also, with the present disclosure, a display device can be provided inwhich an oscillator is disposed on a substrate, and with whichunnecessary radiation that is generated from a conductive housingconnected to the ground component of the substrate is reduced.Specifically, the housing is connected to the first specific first site(first site) and the second specific first site (second site) of theground component. The first specific first site (first site) and thesecond specific first site (second site) are disposed at positions wherethe distance between two overlapping points in the first specific firstarea (first area) of the housing in which the impedance is higher thanthe first threshold due to the first specific first site (first site)and the second specific first area (second area) of the housing in whichthe impedance is higher than the first threshold due to the secondspecific first site (second site), is at or under the specific threshold(such as 1/10 the wavelength corresponding to the oscillation frequencyof the oscillation signal of the oscillator).

[1] In view of the state of the known technology and in accordance withan aspect of the present invention, the display device of the presentdisclosure includes a signal processor, a display component, asubstrate, and a conductive housing. The signal processor includes anoscillator that is configured to output oscillation signal. The signalprocessor is configured to process signal whose frequency is higher thana specific threshold. The display component is configured to displayvideo. The substrate has a ground component. The signal processor isdisposed on the substrate. The conductive housing is connected to afirst site of the ground component and to a second site that isdifferent from the first site. The first site and the second site aredisposed at positions where a first area of the housing in which animpedance is higher than a first threshold due to the first site overlapat least part of a second area of the housing in which an impedance islower than a second threshold due to the second site.

In view of the state of the known technology and in accordance withanother aspect of the present invention, the display device of thepresent disclosure includes a signal processor, a display component, asubstrate, and a conductive housing. The signal processor includes anoscillator that is configured to output oscillation signal. The signalprocessor is configured to process signal whose frequency is higher thana specific threshold. The display component is configured to displayvideo. The substrate has a ground component and a first conductor. Thesignal processor is disposed on the substrate. The conductive housing isconnected to a first site of the ground component and to a second siteof the first conductor. The first site and the second site are disposedat positions where a first area of the housing in which an impedance ishigher than a first threshold due to the first site overlap at leastpart of a second area of the housing in which an impedance is lower thana second threshold due to the second site.

With these display devices mentioned above, when the housing isconnected to the first site of a ground component disposed at a cornerof the housing, for example, all or part of the first area of thehousing at which the impedance is higher due to the first site overlapsthe second area of the housing at which the impedance is lower due tothe second site, so there is less unnecessary radiation in the firstarea of the housing where the impedance is higher. Therefore, even ifthe length, width, or other dimensions of the housing exceed half thewavelength λ of the highest oscillation frequency of the oscillator(λ/2), all or part of the first area of the housing where the impedanceis higher can be lowered in impedance by the second site, andunnecessary radiation can be effectively reduced.

Furthermore, there is no need to dispose numerous grounding sites evenlyon the side of the interior of the housing as in the past, and thehousing can be manufactured with a simple configuration andinexpensively.

[2] In accordance with a preferred embodiment according to any one ofthe display devices mentioned above, the first area is an area in thehousing that is an odd-numbered multiple of ¼ wavelength of theoscillation signal away from the first site.

With this display device, the impedance is higher in the first area thatis an odd-numbered multiple of ¼ the wavelength of the oscillationsignal away from the first site, but since the second area of lowerimpedance overlaps within this range, the first area can be reduced insize, and unnecessary radiation can be effectively reduced.

[3] In accordance with a preferred embodiment according to any one ofthe display devices mentioned above, the second site is located at theground component. The second area is a position in the housing that isan even-numbered multiple of ¼ the wavelength of the oscillation signalaway from the second site.

With this display device, since the second area connected to the groundcomponent is at a position in the housing that is an even-numberedmultiple of ¼ the wavelength of the oscillation signal away from thesecond site, the impedance can be effectively lowered in this secondarea. Therefore, the first area where the impedance is higher can beeffectively reduced in size, and unnecessary radiation can beeffectively reduced.

[4] In accordance with a preferred embodiment according to any one ofthe display devices mentioned above, the second site is located outsidethe ground component, and the second area is in a position in thehousing that is an odd-numbered multiple of ¼ wavelength of theoscillation signal away from the second site.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment according to any one of thedisplay devices mentioned above, the second area is in a position in thehousing that is an odd-numbered multiple of ¼ wavelength of theoscillation signal away from the second site.

With this display device, since the second area of the housing that isconnected to the first conductor is in a position of the housing that isan odd-numbered multiple of ¼ the wavelength of the oscillation signalaway from the second site, the impedance of this second area can beeffectively reduced. Therefore, the first area of the housing where theimpedance is higher can be effectively reduced in size, and unnecessaryradiation can be effectively reduced.

[5] In accordance with a preferred embodiment according to any one ofthe display devices mentioned above, the housing is connected to a thirdsite that is different form the first site of the ground component andthe second site. The housing has a third area in which an impedance ishigher than the first threshold due to the third site. The first areaand the third area overlap at two points, and a distance X between thetwo points satisfies the following condition:

0<X≤λ/10, where X represents a wavelength of the oscillation signal.

The two points are located within a circle with a radius of λ/20,centered at a point in the second area of the housing

With this display device, since the distance X between the two pointswhere the first area and the third area overlap satisfies the conditionof 0<X λ/10, as long as all or part of the area between these two pointsis used as a second area where the impedance is lower, then the firstarea and the third area will both have lower impedance due to a singlesecond site.

[6] In accordance with a preferred embodiment according to any one ofthe display devices mentioned above, the housing has a rectangular upperpart and side parts that extend from edges of the upper part and areperpendicular to the upper part. The first site is disposed on a sidepart extending from a short edge of the upper part. The second site isdisposed on a side part extending from a long edge of the upper part.

[7] In accordance with a preferred embodiment according to any one ofthe display devices mentioned above, the first area and the second areaeach include a plurality of areas.

[8] In accordance with a preferred embodiment according to any one ofthe display devices mentioned above, the first site and the second siteeach include a plurality of sites. The number of sites of the secondsite is equal to or less than the number of sites of the first sites.

[9] In accordance with a preferred embodiment according to any one ofthe display devices mentioned above, the first site includes at leasttwo sites. The second site includes one second area overlapping at leasttwo first areas.

With these display devices (according to items [8] and [9]), since thenumber of sites of the second site is limited to the same as or lessthan the number of sites of the first site, there is no need to evenlydispose numerous conductor posts that connect the housing and the groundof the substrate as in the past, and the housing can be manufacturedwith a simple configuration and inexpensively.

[10] In accordance with a preferred embodiment according to any one ofthe display devices mentioned above, the second site is disposed at aspecific position on the substrate that is separated from the housing byan extension line connected to the housing.

With this display device, since the second site can be disposed at someposition that is separated from the housing by an extension lineextending from the housing, this affords greater latitude in theposition of the second site that lowers the impedance of the highimpedance range produced by the first site.

[11] In accordance with a preferred embodiment according to any one ofthe display devices mentioned above, the housing is disposed in aspecific area of the substrate. The second site is disposed in thespecific area.

[12] In accordance with a preferred embodiment according to any one ofthe display devices mentioned above, the extension line is a wiredisposed on the substrate.

With these display devices (according to items [11] and [12]), since theextension line is disposed in a specific area of the substrate locatedbelow the housing, even if other constituent parts of the tuner device,such as a digital processing circuit or an audio circuit, is disposednear and to the side of the housing on the substrate, these devices willnot get in the way, and the high impedance range can be easily lowered.

[13] In accordance with a preferred embodiment according to any one ofthe display devices mentioned above, the first area or the second areaincludes an area according to a range of variation of a wavelength ofthe oscillation signal.

With this display device, even if the first area of higher impedancechanges according to a wavelength change accompanying a change in thefrequency of the oscillation signal of the oscillator, the second areawhere the impedance is low will also change, including the range ofchange thereof, so no matter at what oscillation frequency theoscillator oscillates, unnecessary radiation will always be effectivelyreduced everywhere on the housing.

[14] In accordance with a preferred embodiment according to any one ofthe display devices mentioned above, the display device further includesa connector to which a signal cable is connected and that is provided tothe housing. The first area is located near the connector.

With this display device, with a housing in which a television broadcastsignal cable is connected to the connector, for example, even if therange near the connector is a first area of high impedance due to thefirst site, since the second site will lower the impedance of all orpart of the first area in the second area, the impedance distributionover the housing will tend not to be affected by variance in the state(type, material, shape, etc.) of the signal cable, and it will be lesslikely that unnecessary radiation is produced by variance in the stateof the signal cable.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment according to any one of thedisplay devices mentioned above, the range of the oscillation frequencyof the oscillation signal is at least 2 GHz.

With this display device, unnecessary radiation can be effectivelyreduced in a display device comprising a tuner device used fortelevision broadcast reception.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment according to any one of thedisplay devices mentioned above, the signal processor is a wirelesscommunication component that sends and receives information signals or atuner that receives broadcast signals.

[15] In accordance with a preferred embodiment according to any one ofthe display devices mentioned above, the first site includes a firstspecific first site and a second specific first site. The first areaincludes a first specific first area in which an impedance is higherthan the first threshold due to the first specific first site and asecond specific first area in which an impedance is higher than thefirst threshold due to the second specific first site. The firstspecific first area and the second specific first area overlap at twooverlapping points. The first specific first site and the secondspecific first site are disposed at positions where a distance betweenthe two overlapping points of the first specific first area and thesecond specific first area is at or under a specific threshold.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment according to any one of thedisplay devices mentioned above, the second site is located at theground component. The second area is located in an area of the housingthat is an odd-numbered multiple of ¼ wavelength of the oscillationsignal away from the second site.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment according to any one of thedisplay devices mentioned above, the second site is located outside theground component. The second area is located in an area of the housingthat is an even-numbered multiple of ¼ wavelength of the oscillationsignal away from the second site.

As described above, with the display device of the present disclosure,even if a range of high impedance occurs in a housing due to thegrounding site, since a second site that forcibly changes this range toa lower impedance is disposed on the substrate, unnecessary radiationthat is produced from the housing can be effectively reduced, and thenumber of grounding sites to the ground potential part of the substratecan be limited to a far smaller number than in the past, making itpossible to manufacture the housing easily and inexpensively.

Also, to achieve the stated object, with the present disclosure, sinceunnecessary radiation is inevitably generated at parts of the housingwhere the impedance is high (using a grounding site of the housing as areference impedance), so unnecessary radiation is reduced by aconfiguration in which these parts of the housing where the impedance ishigh are eliminated as much as possible.

[16] In view of the state of the known technology and in accordance withanother aspect of the present invention, the display device of thepresent disclosure includes a signal processor, a display component, asubstrate, and a conductive housing. The signal processor includes anoscillator that is configured to output oscillation signal. The signalprocessor is configured to process signal whose frequency is higher thana specific threshold. The display component is configured to displayvideo. The substrate has a ground component. The signal processor isdisposed on the substrate. The conductive housing is connected to afirst site of the ground component and to a second site that isdifferent from the first site. The first site and the second site aredisposed at positions where a distance between two overlapping points ina first area of the housing in which an impedance is higher than a firstthreshold due to the first site and a second area of the housing inwhich an impedance is higher than the first threshold due to the secondsite, is at or under a specific threshold.

With this display device, since the first site and second site that areprovided to the housing for making a ground connection are disposed atpositions where the distance between two overlapping points in a firstarea and a second area in which the impedance is higher due to these twogrounding sites, is at or under a specific threshold, the range of thefirst area and second area of high impedance can be kept overall withina narrow range of the housing area. Therefore, when the impedance islowered in this narrow range of high impedance area, the impedance maybe lowered in only this narrow range of area, which makes design easier.

[17] In accordance with a preferred embodiment according to the displaydevice mentioned above, the first area is located in an area of thehousing that is an odd-numbered multiple of ¼ wavelength of theoscillation signal away from the first site.

[18] In accordance with a preferred embodiment according to any one ofthe display devices mentioned above, the second site is located at theground component. The second area is located in an area of the housingthat is an odd-numbered multiple of ¼ wavelength of the oscillationsignal away from the second site.

[19] In accordance with a preferred embodiment according to any one ofthe display devices mentioned above, the second site is located outsidethe ground component. The second area is located in an area of thehousing that is an even-numbered multiple of ¼ wavelength of theoscillation signal away from the second site.

With these display devices (according to items [17] to [19]), the firstarea and the second area are areas of higher impedance than other areasof the housing, but it is possible to limit these areas.

[20] In accordance with a preferred embodiment according to any one ofthe display devices mentioned above, the specific threshold is λ/10where X represents the wavelength of the oscillation signal.

With this display device, since the first site and the second site ofthe housing are disposed so that the distance between two overlappingpoints in the first area and the second area will be no more than λ/10of the wavelength λ of the oscillation signal, it is possible toeffectively limit all or part of the first area and second area.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment according to any one of thedisplay devices mentioned above, the wavelength of the oscillationsignal is the wavelength with the lowest frequency in the frequencyvariable range of the oscillator.

With this display device, even with the two high impedance areas locatedthe farthest away from the first site and the second site, since thedistance between two overlapping points in these two high impedanceareas is at or under a specific threshold, these high impedance areascan be reliably limited.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment according to any one of thedisplay devices mentioned above, the display device further includes anextension line that connects the housing and the first site. The firstsite is disposed at a position that is some distance from the housing.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment according to any one of thedisplay devices mentioned above, the display device further includes anextension line that connects the housing and the second site. The secondsite is disposed at a position that is some distance from the housing.

With these display devices, since the first site and the second site aredisposed at positions that are some distance from the housing, thedistance between two overlapping points in the first area and the secondarea of the housing in which the impedance is high due to these firstand second sites can be easily kept at or under a specific threshold.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment according to any one of thedisplay devices mentioned above, the housing is disposed in a specificarea of the substrate, and the second site is disposed in a specificarea of the substrate.

With this display device, even when the second site is disposed at aposition that is away from the housing, since the second site isdisposed in a specific area of the substrate where the housing isdisposed, even when other constituent parts of a tuner device, such as adigital processing circuit or an audio circuit, are disposed near and tothe side of the housing on the substrate, these constituent parts willnot get in the way, and the grounding site can be disposed at a positionthat is away from the housing.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment according to any one of thedisplay devices mentioned above, the display device further includes aconnector that is provided to the housing and is connected to a signalcable. The first area and the second area are located at sites that areat least a specific distance away from the connector.

With this display device, even if a television broadcast signal cable isconnected to the connector, for example, since a first area and a secondarea of high impedance are located away from the connector, theimpedance distribution over the housing will be less likely to beaffected by variance in the state (type, material, shape, etc.)

of the signal cable, and the occurrence of unnecessary radiation due tovariance in the state of the signal cable can be suppressed.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment according to any one of thedisplay devices mentioned above, the substrate has a third site. Thethird site is disposed so that a third area of the housing in which theimpedance is lower than a specific threshold due to said third siteoverlaps the first area and/or the second area.

With this display device, since a third site is disposed on thesubstrate so that a third area of low impedance will overlap the firstarea and/or the second area of high impedance in the housing,unnecessary radiation from the first area or the second area can beeffectively reduced.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment according to any one of thedisplay devices mentioned above, the third site is connected to theground component. The third area is located in an area of the housingthat is an even-numbered multiple of ¼ the wavelength of the oscillationsignal away from the third site.

With this display device, since the third site is connected to theground component and the third area is located in an area that is aneven-numbered multiple of ¼ the wavelength of the oscillation signalaway from the third site, the first area or the second area in which theimpedance is high can be reliably reduced to a low impedance by thethird site, and the generation of unnecessary radiation from the firstarea or the second area can be effectively reduced.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment according to any one of thedisplay devices mentioned above, the third site is not connected to theground component. The third area is located in an area of the housingthat is an odd-numbered multiple of ¼ the wavelength of the oscillationsignal away from the third site.

With this display device, since the third site is not connected to theground component and the third area is located in an area that is anodd-numbered multiple of ¼ the wavelength of the oscillation signal awayfrom the third site, the first area or the second area in which theimpedance is high can be reliably reduced to a low impedance by thethird site, and the generation of unnecessary radiation from the firstarea or the second area can be effectively reduced.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment according to any one of thedisplay devices mentioned above, the display device further includes anextension line that connects the housing and the third site. The thirdsite is disposed at a position that is some distance from the housing.

With this display device, since the third site is disposed at a positionthat is some distance from the housing, this third site can reliablylower the impedance in the first area or the second area in which theimpedance is high in the housing.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment according to any one of thedisplay devices mentioned above, the housing is disposed in a specificarea of the substrate. The third site is disposed in a specific area ofthe substrate.

With this display device, even though the third site is located at aposition that is away from the housing, since the third site is disposedin a specific area of the substrate in which the housing is disposed,even when other constituent parts of a tuner device, such as a digitalprocessing circuit or an audio circuit, are disposed near and to theside of the housing on the substrate, these constituent parts will notget in the way, and the grounding site can be disposed at a positionthat is away from the housing.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment according to any one of thedisplay devices mentioned above, the range of the oscillation frequencyof the oscillation signal is at least 2 GHz.

With this display device, unnecessary radiation can be effectivelyreduced in a tuner device used to receipt television broadcasts,including the VCO frequency range used for television broadcastreception.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment according to any one of thedisplay devices mentioned above, the signal processor is a wirelesscommunication component that sends and receives information signals, ora tuner that receives broadcast signals.

In view of the state of the known technology and in accordance withfurther another aspect of the present invention, the display device ofthe present disclosure comprises a signal processor including anoscillator that outputs oscillation signal, the signal processorprocessing signal whose frequency is higher than a specific threshold; adisplay component that displays video; a substrate having a groundcomponent, the signal processor being disposed on the substrate; and aconductive housing connected to a first site of the ground component andto a second site that is different from the first site, the first siteand the second site being disposed at positions where a first area ofthe housing that is an odd-numbered multiple of ¼ wavelength of theoscillation signal away from the first site overlaps at least part of asecond area of the housing that is a multiple of ¼ wavelength of theoscillation signal away from the second site.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment according to any one of thedisplay devices mentioned above, the second site is located at theground component, and the second area is in a position in the housingthat is an even-numbered multiple of ¼ wavelength of the oscillationsignal away from the second site.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment according to any one of thedisplay devices mentioned above, the second site is located outside theground component, and the second area is in a position in the housingthat is an odd-numbered multiple of ¼ wavelength of the oscillationsignal away from the second site.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment according to any one of thedisplay devices mentioned above, the housing is connected to a thirdsite that is different form the first site of the ground component andthe second site, the housing has a third area that overlaps with thefirst area at two points, with a distance X between the two pointssatisfying the following condition:

-   -   0<X≤λ/10        where λ represents a wavelength of the oscillation signal, and        the two points are located within a circle with a radius of        λ/20, centered at a point in the second area of the housing.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment according to any one of thedisplay devices mentioned above, the housing has a rectangular upperpart and side parts that extend from edges of the upper part and areperpendicular to the upper part, the first site is disposed on a sidepart extending from a short edge of the upper part, and the second siteis disposed on a side part extending from a long edge of the upper part.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment according to any one of thedisplay devices mentioned above, the first area and the second area eachinclude a plurality of areas.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment according to any one of thedisplay devices mentioned above, the first site and the second site eachinclude a plurality of sites, and the number of sites of the second siteis equal to or less than the number of sites of the first sites.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment according to any one of thedisplay devices mentioned above, the first site includes at least twosites, and the second site includes one second area overlapping at leasttwo first areas.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment according to any one of thedisplay devices mentioned above, the second site is disposed at aspecific position on the substrate that is separated from the housing byan extension line connected to the housing.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment according to any one of thedisplay devices mentioned above, the housing is disposed in a specificarea of the substrate, and the second site is disposed in the specificarea.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment according to any one of thedisplay devices mentioned above, the extension line is a wire disposedon the substrate.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment according to any one of thedisplay devices mentioned above, the first area or the second areaincludes an area according to a range of variation of a wavelength ofthe oscillation signal.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment according to any one of thedisplay devices mentioned above, the display device further comprises aconnector to which a signal cable is connected and that is provided tothe housing, the first area being located near the connector.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment according to any one of thedisplay devices mentioned above, the first site includes a firstspecific first site and a second specific first site, the first areaincludes a first specific first area and a second specific first areathat overlap at two overlapping points, and the first specific firstsite and the second specific first site are disposed at positions wherea distance between the two overlapping points of the first specificfirst area and the second specific first area is at or under a specificthreshold.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment according to any one of thedisplay devices mentioned above, the oscillation signal has anoscillation frequency of 6 to 8 GHz.

In view of the state of the known technology and in accordance withfurther another aspect of the present invention, the display device ofthe present disclosure comprises a signal processor including anoscillator that outputs oscillation signal, the signal processorprocessing signal whose frequency is higher than a specific threshold; adisplay component that displays video; a substrate having a groundcomponent, the signal processor being disposed on the substrate; and aconductive housing connected to a first site of the ground component andto a second site that is different from the first site, the first siteand the second site being disposed at positions where a distance betweentwo overlapping points in a first area of the housing that is anodd-numbered multiple of ¼ wavelength of the oscillation signal awayfrom the first site and a second area of the housing that is a multipleof ¼ the wavelength of the oscillation signal away from the second site,is at or under a specific threshold.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment according to any one of thedisplay devices mentioned above, the second site is located at theground component, and the second area is located in an area of thehousing that is an odd-numbered multiple of ¼ the wavelength of theoscillation signal away from the second site.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment according to any one of thedisplay devices mentioned above, the second site is located outside theground component, and the second area is located in an area of thehousing that is an even-numbered multiple of ¼ the wavelength of theoscillation signal away from the second site.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment according to any one of thedisplay devices mentioned above, the specific threshold is λ/10 where Xrepresents the wavelength of the oscillation signal.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment according to any one of thedisplay devices mentioned above, the oscillation signal has anoscillation frequency of 6 to 8 GHz.

As described above, with the tuner device of the present disclosure, thedistance between two overlapping points in two areas of high impedanceon a conductor path over which oscillation signals propagate through ahousing is limited to be at or under a specific threshold, so the rangein which unnecessary radiation occurs in the housing can be narrowed oreliminated, and unnecessary radiation can be effectively reduced.

In understanding the scope of the present invention, the term“comprising” and its derivatives, as used herein, are intended to beopen ended terms that specify the presence of the stated features,elements, components, groups, integers, and/or steps, but do not excludethe presence of other unstated features, elements, components, groups,integers and/or steps. The foregoing also applies to words havingsimilar meanings such as the terms, “including”, “having” and theirderivatives. Also, the terms “part,” “section,” “portion,” “member” or“element” when used in the singular can have the dual meaning of asingle part or a plurality of parts unless otherwise stated.

The term “attached” or “attaching”, as used herein, encompassesconfigurations in which an element is directly secured to anotherelement by affixing the element directly to the other element;configurations in which the element is indirectly secured to the otherelement by affixing the element to the intermediate member(s) which inturn are affixed to the other element; and configurations in which oneelement is integral with another element, i.e. one element isessentially part of the other element. This definition also applies towords of similar meaning, for example, “joined”, “connected”, “coupled”,“mounted”, “bonded”, “fixed” and their derivatives. Finally, terms ofdegree such as “substantially”, “about” and “approximately” as usedherein mean an amount of deviation of the modified term such that theend result is not significantly changed.

While only selected embodiments have been chosen to illustrate thepresent invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art fromthis disclosure that various changes and modifications can be madeherein without departing from the scope of the invention as defined inthe appended claims. For example, unless specifically stated otherwise,the size, shape, location or orientation of the various components canbe changed as needed and/or desired so long as the changes do notsubstantially affect their intended function. Unless specifically statedotherwise, components that are shown directly connected or contactingeach other can have intermediate structures disposed between them solong as the changes do not substantially affect their intended function.The functions of one element can be performed by two, and vice versaunless specifically stated otherwise. The structures and functions ofone embodiment can be adopted in another embodiment. It is not necessaryfor all advantages to be present in a particular embodiment at the sametime. Every feature which is unique from the prior art, alone or incombination with other features, also should be considered a separatedescription of further inventions by the applicant, including thestructural and/or functional concepts embodied by such feature(s). Thus,the foregoing descriptions of the embodiments according to the presentinvention are provided for illustration only, and not for the purpose oflimiting the invention as defined by the appended claims and theirequivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. An electronic device comprising: a signalprocessor including an oscillator that outputs oscillation signal; asubstrate having a ground component, the signal processor being disposedon the substrate; and a conductive housing connected to a first site ofthe ground component and to a second site that is different from thefirst site, the first site and the second site being disposed atpositions where a first area of the housing that is an odd-numberedmultiple of ¼ wavelength of the oscillation signal away from the firstsite overlaps at least part of a second area of the housing that is amultiple of ¼ wavelength of the oscillation signal away from the secondsite.
 2. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the secondsite is located at the ground component, and the second area is in aposition in the housing that is an even-numbered multiple of ¼wavelength of the oscillation signal away from the second site.
 3. Theelectronic device according to claim 1, wherein the second site islocated outside the ground component, and the second area is in aposition in the housing that is an odd-numbered multiple of ¼ wavelengthof the oscillation signal away from the second site.
 4. The electronicdevice according to claim 1, wherein the housing is connected to a thirdsite that is different form the first site of the ground component andthe second site, the housing has a third area that overlaps with thefirst area at two points, with a distance X between the two pointssatisfying the following condition: 0<X≤λ/10 where λ represents awavelength of the oscillation signal, and the two points are locatedwithin a circle with a radius of λ/20, centered at a point in the secondarea of the housing.
 5. The electronic device according to claim 1,wherein the housing has a rectangular upper part and side parts thatextend from edges of the upper part and are perpendicular to the upperpart, the first site is disposed on a side part extending from a shortedge of the upper part, and the second site is disposed on a side partextending from a long edge of the upper part.
 6. The electronic deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the first area and the second area eachinclude a plurality of areas.
 7. The electronic device according toclaim 1, wherein the first site and the second site each include aplurality of sites, and the number of sites of the second site is equalto or less than the number of sites of the first sites.
 8. Theelectronic device according to claim 7, wherein the first site includesat least two sites, and the second site includes one second areaoverlapping at least two first areas.
 9. The electronic device accordingto claim 1, wherein the second site is disposed at a specific positionon the substrate that is separated from the housing by an extension lineconnected to the housing.
 10. The electronic device according to claim9, wherein the housing is disposed in a specific area of the substrate,and the second site is disposed in the specific area.
 11. The electronicdevice according to claim 10, wherein the extension line is a wiredisposed on the substrate.
 12. The electronic device according to claim1, wherein the first area or the second area includes an area accordingto a range of variation of a wavelength of the oscillation signal. 13.The electronic device according to claim 1, further comprising aconnector to which a signal cable is connected and that is provided tothe housing, the first area being located near the connector.
 14. Theelectronic device according to claim 1, wherein the first site includesa first specific first site and a second specific first site, the firstarea includes a first specific first area and a second specific firstarea that overlap at two overlapping points, and the first specificfirst site and the second specific first site are disposed at positionswhere a distance between the two overlapping points of the firstspecific first area and the second specific first area is at or under aspecific threshold.
 15. The electronic device according to claim 1,wherein the oscillation signal has an oscillation frequency of 6 to 8GHz.
 16. An electronic device comprising: a signal processor includingan oscillator that outputs oscillation signal; a substrate having aground component, the signal processor being disposed on the substrate;and a conductive housing connected to a first site of the groundcomponent and to a second site that is different from the first site,the first site and the second site being disposed at positions where adistance between two overlapping points in a first area of the housingthat is an odd-numbered multiple of ¼ wavelength of the oscillationsignal away from the first site and a second area of the housing that isa multiple of ¼ the wavelength of the oscillation signal away from thesecond site, is at or under a specific threshold.
 17. The electronicdevice according to claim 16, wherein the second site is located at theground component, and the second area is located in an area of thehousing that is an odd-numbered multiple of ¼ the wavelength of theoscillation signal away from the second site.
 18. The electronic deviceaccording to claim 16, wherein the second site is located outside theground component, and the second area is located in an area of thehousing that is an even-numbered multiple of ¼ the wavelength of theoscillation signal away from the second site.
 19. The electronic deviceaccording to claim 16, wherein the signal processor processes signalwhose frequency is higher than λ/10 where λ represents the wavelength ofthe oscillation signal.
 20. The electronic device according to claim 16,wherein the oscillation signal has an oscillation frequency of 6 to 8GHz.